fnTroducTion  To  the  Mooks 

OF  THE 

OLD  TESTAMENT 


O.S.Stearns  d.d. 


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INTRODUCTION 


TO  THE 


Books  of  the  Old  Testament. 


WITH  ANALYSES  AND  ILLUSTRATIVE 
LITERATURE. 


BY 


O.   S.   STEARNS,   D.D., 

Professor  of  Biblical  Interpretation  in  Newton 
Theological  Institution. 


>J^c 


BOSTON: 

SILVER,   BURDETT,   &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS, 

50  Bromfield  Street. 

1888. 


Copyright  by 

SILVER,  BURDETT,  &  CO, 

1888. 


Typography  by  J.  S.  Cushing  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Presswork  by  Berwick  &  Smith,  Boston. 


PREFACE 


The  design  of  this  book  is  to  enable  the  reader  to  find 
the  leading  thoughts  of  each  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, combine  these  thoughts  chronologically,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, and  thus  perceive  more  clearly  and  comprehensively 
their  development.  He  will  see  that  the  Law  expands  into 
history,  history  leads  to  prophecy,  and  prophecy  becomes  ac- 
tuality. He  will  appreciate  the  saying  of  Tholuck,  "  Heathen- 
ism is  the  night-sky  of  religion,  and  the  sky  is  sown  with  stars  : 
Judaism  is  the  moonlight,  and  Christianity  is  the  sun." 

The  book  makes  no  claim  to  be  any  more  than  a  syllabus, 
or  compendium,  of  larger  works  on  the  same  subject.  Intro- 
ductions, like  those  of  Bleek  and  Harman,  and  articles  on  the 
several  books  of  the  Old  Testament  found  in  cyclopedias, 
cover  much  more  ground  and  require  a  severe  critical  judg- 
ment. They  are  designed  for  scholars,  and  except  as  mate- 
rial for  reference  are  too  full  and  elaborate  for  profitable 
instruction  in  the  class-room.  At  least,  such  has  been  my 
experience.  This  book  is  published  at  the  request  of  classes 
who  have  used  the  substance  of  it  in  another  form.  The 
best  method  in  using  it  is  to  read  carefully  the  introductory 
matter  and  the  analyses  of  each  book  of  the  Old  Testament 
in  the  order  indicated,  then  read  still  more  carefully  the  book 
itself,  verifying  the  main  topic  and  analysis,  and  with  the  whole 


4  PREFACE. 

book  well  in  hand  write  out  a  much  more  minute  analysis. 
In  this  way  the  student  will  secure  a  conspectus  of  each  of 
the  books,  and  be  able  to  group  them  in  suggestive  wholes. 
I  have  been  told  that  such  a  compendium  would  be  of 
value  to  ministers  generally,  as  well  as  to  theological  students ; 
and  as  the  basis  of  it  is  the  Enghsh  Scriptures,  it  may  com- 
mend itself  to  superintendents  and  teachers  in  the  Sunday 
School.  Perhaps  it  may  be  used  profitably  as  a  text-book 
in  theological  seminaries,  and  even  in  colleges,  in  that  good 
day  coming  when  the  Old  Testament  becomes  a  literary  and 
an  historical  study.  The  literature  referred  to  is  intended  for 
broader  reading  on  difficult  and  controverted  subjects.  Much 
of  it  can  be  found  in  every  minister's  library,  as  well  as  in 
almost  any  public  library,  and  if  not  found  there,  is  easily 
accessible.  Critical  questions  pertaining  to  the  reconstruction 
of  the  Old  Testament  are  not  discussed,  but  the  Hterature 
referred  to  will  open  the  way  for  each  one  to  form  an  opin- 
ion for  himself.  Nothing  controversial  is  designed.  My  sin- 
gle desire  is  that  to  every  one  who  may  read  this  book,  these 
ancient  Scriptures  may  become  more  precious  and  inspiring. 

O.   S.   STEARNS. 

Newton  Centre,  Mass. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preface      3 

Table  of  Contents 5 

Plan  of  Study 7 

General  Divisions  of  the  Old  Testament 8 

I.  PENTATEUCH. 

1.  Genesis 10 

2.  Exodus 14 

3.  Leviticus 17 

4.  Numbers 20 

5.  Deuteronomy 24 

II.  EARLIER   PROPHETS. 

1.  Joshua 27 

2.  Judges 32 

3.  I  AND  2  Samuel 36 

4.  I  AND  2  Kings 41 

III.  LATER   PROPHETS. 

A.  Greater  Prophets. 

1.  Isaiah 45 

2.  Jeremiah 51 

3.  Ezekiel       55 

B.  Lesser  Prophets. 

1.  Hosea 59 

2.  Joel 62 

3.  Amos 65 

4.  Obadiah 67 

5.  Jonah 70 


6  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

6.  MiCAH 74 

7.  Nahum 76 

8.  Habakkuk 79 

9.  Zephaniah 82 

10.  Haggai 84 

11.  Zechariah 87 

12.  Malachi 90 

IV.     HAGIOGRAPHA. 

A.  I.  Psalms 94 

2.  Proverbs .  98 

3-  Job 102 

B.  I.  Song  of  Songs 107 

2.  Ruth 113 

3.  Lamentations 116 

4.  Ecclesiastes 120 

5.  Esther 125 

C.  I.  Daniel 129 

2.  Ezra 136 

3.  Nehemiah 139 

4.  I  and  2  Chronicles 142 


INTRODUCTION 


Books  of  the  Old  Testament. 


PLAN   OF   STUDY. 

The  text  of  the  Hebrew  Bible  and  the  translation 
known  as  the  Revised  Version  will  form  the  basis  of  it, 
as  sufficient  for  our  purposes.  Questions  as  to  the  lan- 
guages of  the  text,  the  history  of  the  text,  the  integrity 
of  the  text,  the  inspiration  of  the  authors  of  the  text, 
and  the  supernatural  character  of  the  events  recorded 
in  the  text,  will  not  be  considered.  They  pertain  to 
** General  Introductions"  (Bleek,  Keil,  Home,  Harman) 
and  to  Systematic  Theology.  The  canonicity  of  the 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  will  also  be  disregarded. 
Our  main  quest  is  for  the  contents  of  these  books,  as- 
suming their  canonicity  and  their  authenticity.  Our 
work  is  historical  rather  than  exegetical  or  apologetical. 
Our  plan  includes  nothing  more  than  a  succinct  outline 
of  each  of  the  Books  of  the  Old  Testament,  giving 
attention  to  authorship,  date,  contents,  chief  critical 
difficulties,  and  such  literature  as  may  aid  in  the  solu- 
tion of  the  difficulties.    We  shall  follow  the  order  in  the 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

Hebrew  Bible,  as  best  suited  to  our  plan,  because,  while 
that  order  ignores  the  date  of  composition  and  formal 
contents,  it  harmonizes  with  an  apparent  design  in  the 
unfolding  of  ruling  ideas.  The  Triple  Division  —  "the 
Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Hagiographa"  —  gives  us 
three  clearly  defined  ideas,  viz.;  "The  Law  is  the  foun- 
dation of  the  whole  revelation,  the  special  discipline  by 
which  a  chosen  race  was  trained  from  a  savage  wilful- 
ness to  the  accomplishment  of  its  divine  work.  The 
Prophets  portray  the  struggles  of  the  same  people  when 
they  come  into  closer  connection  with  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world,  and  were  led  to  look  for  the  inward  antitypes 
of  the  outward  precepts.  The  Hagiographa  carry  the 
divine  lesson  yet  further,  and  show  its  working  in  the 
various  phases  of  individual  life,  and  in  relation  to 
the  great  problems  of  thought  and  feeling,  which  pre- 
sent themselves  by  a  necessary  law  in  the  later  stages 
of  civilization."  Wescott,  art.  "Canon,"  Smith's  Bib. 
Diet.  Vol.  L  p.  359. 

THE   LAW. 

The  Law,  or  Pentateuch,  as  one  historical  book, 
begins  with  the  creation  of  the  world  and  ends  with 
the  death  of  Moses.  It  is  divided  into  five  books  in 
the  Hebrew  Mss.  and  in  the  oldest  translations.  The 
division  is  as  old,  at  least,  as  the  latest  redaction  of  the 
Pentateuch,  and  probably  older.  The  opinion  that  the 
division  was  the  work  of  the  Alexandrian  translators  is 
doubted  by  Keil  and  Bleek.  In  harmony  with  this 
division  it  has  been  termed  "The  five-fifths  of  the  Law," 
^'The  five  books  of  Moses,''  and  by  one  word,  the  Latin 
transliteration  of  the  Greek  o  Trei^Tareu/to?,  "  the  five-vol- 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

umedbook;'  '*the  Pentateuch"  (Bleek,  §  66).  The  title 
to  each  book  in  the  Hebrew  text  is  found  in  the  initial 
word  or  words ;  in  the  Sept.  by  terms  indicative  of 
the  contents  or  leading  thought :  as  Genesis,  generation 
or  production,  because  it  starts  with  the  origin  of  the 
world ;  Exodus,  because  it  starts  with  the  departure  of 
the  Hebrews  from  Egypt ;  Leviticus,  because  it  con- 
tains the  ritual  of  worship,  etc.  In  the  English  version, 
the  titles  are  taken  from  the  Vulgate.  N.B.  The  title 
"The  Five  Books  of  Moses,"  which  would  indicate 
authorship,  is  of  late  date.  It  is  not  found  in  the 
Hebrew  Bibles  or  Mss.,  nor  in  the  Sept.  or  Vulgate. 


I.  PENTATEUCH. 


I.   GENESIS. 

Cbaptersi  50i 

§  1.  liiterary  History  of  the  Book.  —  In  the  can- 
ons of  the  Jews  and  of  the  Christian  Church,  Genesis 
occupies  its  place  at  the  head  of  the  Pentateuch,  and  is 
reckoned  as  an  unquestioned  part  of  it.  In  Hebrew 
Mss.  it  is  not  reckoned  as  one  of  five  books,  but  as  one 
part  of  one  book,  the  connecting  waw^  except  in  the 
case  of  Deuteronomy,  binding  the  five  parts  into  one 
whole.  Note.  —  For  modern  criticism  severing  it  into 
parts  with  various  dates  and  authorship,  see  my  "  Lec- 
tures on  Newer  Criticism,"  and  for  literature,  "The 
Pentateuch ;  its  Origin  and  Structure,"  E.  C.  Bissell, 
App.  Also,  "Essays  on  Pentateuchal  Criticism  by 
Various  Authors." 

§  2.  Design  of  the  Book.  —  This  has  been  tersely 
stated  by  T.  J.  Conant  (Com.  Preface)  as  follows:  "The 
object  of  the  book  is  to  reveal  to  us  the  origin  of  the 
material  universe ;  man's  origin  and  relation  to  God  the 
Creator,  and  the  equality  of  all  men  before  him ;  the 
divinely  constituted  relation  of  the  sexes  ;  the  divine  in- 
stitution of  the  Sabbath  ;  the  origin  of  moral  and  physi- 
cal evil ;  the  primeval  history  of  the  human  race  and 
the  origin  of  nations ;  the  selection  of  one  as  the  deposi- 
tory of  the  sacred  records  and  of  the  divine  purpose 


GENESIS.  1 1 

and  method  for  man's  redemption  ;  the  history  of  its 
ancestral  founders  and  their  relation  to  its  subsequent 
history." 

§  3.  Apparent  Unity  of  the  Book.  —  Whoever  was 
the  author  or  compiler  of  the  book,  its  unity  is  very 
marked.  Whether  we  divide  it  into  twelve  sections,  as 
Murphy,  —  (i)  Creation,  Ch.  I.-II.  3  ^  ;  (2)  Man,  II.  3  b- 
25  ;  (3)  Fall,  III.  ;  (4)  The  Race,  IV. ;  (5)  Line  to  Noah, 
V.-VI.  8 ;  (6)  The  Deluge,  VI.  9-VIII.  ;  (7)  The  Cove- 
nant, IX.;  (8)  The  Nations,  X.-XI.  9;  (9)  Line  to 
Abram,  XI.  10-26;  (10)  Abraham,  XL  27-XXV.  11; 
(II)  Isaac,  XXV.  12-18  to  XXXV.  29;  (12)  Jacob, 
XXXVI.-L.,  —  or  conform  to  the  marked  divisions  of 
the  Hebrew  Text,  where  we  find  ten,  as  in  the  Ten 
Words  of  the  Law, — viz. :  (i)  A  History  of  the  Heavens 
and  the  Earth  ;  (2)  of  Adam  ;  (3)  of  Noah  ;  (4)  of  Noah's 
sons  ;  (5)  of  Shem  ;  (6)  of  Terah  ;  (7)  of  Ishmael ;  (8)  of 
Isaac ;  (9)  of  Esau ;  (10)  of  Jacob,  —  or  analyze  it  still 
more  summarily,  and  divide  it  into  four  parts,  according 
to  thought, — viz.  :  (i)  Creation  and  the  Fall,  Chs.  L- 
III. ;  (2)  The  Fallen  Race  and  its  destruction,  IV.-IX. ; 
(3)  The  Race  with  a  new  trial,  X.-XI. ;  (4)  Initiatory 
steps  for  the  divine  selection  of  a  race  out  of  whom 
shall  come  the  Redeemer  of  all  races,  —  however  we 
may  divide  the  book,  each  portion  conforms  to  a  mani- 
fest purpose  underlying  and  controlling  the  whole.  Few 
books  in  the  Bible  preserve  an  integrity  of  idea  so 
intact.  Apparent  diversions  are  but  tributary  streams 
to  the  main  river. 

§  4.  The  Most  Important  Difficulties.  —  These  may 
be  classed  under  the  general  head  of  Harmonistic. 


12  PENTATEUCH. 

(a)  A  harmony  between  Chs.  I. -II.  3  a  and  the  claims 
of  modern  science.     See  — 

"  Six  Days  of  Creation  *' Lewis,  Tayler. 

Bib.  Sac.  vols.  13,  14 Dana,  J.  D. 

"  Testimony  of  the  Rocks "' Miller.  Hugh. 

"  The  Two  Records  " Miller,  Hugh. 

"  Mosaic  Six  Days  and  Geology."     Bib. 

Sac.  vols.  13,  14 Andrews.  E.  P. 

"■  Narrative  of  Creation  in  Genesis."    Bib. 

Sac.  vol.  12 Means,  J.  O. 

"Creation;  The  Biblical  Cosmogony  in 

the  Light  of  Modern  Science  "     .     .  Guyot,  A. 
"The  first  eleven  Chapters  of  Gen.  at- 
tested by  their  Contents."   Bib.  Sac. 

vol.  22 Translation  of  Auberlen. 

"  History  of  the  Conflict  between  Religion 

and  Science" Draper,  J.  W. 

"  The  Order  of  Creation  " Gladstone,  VV.  E.,  etc. 

"  Reconciliation  of  Science  and  Religion  "  Winchell,  A. 

"Scripture  Doctrine  of  Creation"  .     .     .  Birks,  T.  R. 

"  Scripture  and  Science  not  at  Variance  "  Pratt,  J.  H. 
"  The  Origin  of  the  World  according  to 

Rev.  and  Science  " Dawson,  J.  W. 

"  Rev.  and  Science  " Dawson,  J.  W. 

"Chain  of  Life  in  Geological  Time"  .     .  Dawson,  J.  W. 

(d)  A  harmony  between  Ch.  V.  and   any  accredited 
chronology.     See  — 

Bib.  Sac.  vol.  30 Gardiner,  F. 

Bib.  Sac.  vol.  15 Packard,  J. 

Cyclopedias,  under  head  "  Chronology." 
"  The  Patriarchal  Dynasties  from  Adam 

to  Abraham" Crawford,  T.  P. 

Bib.  Sac.  vol.  44 Schwartz,  J. 

(c)  A  harmony  of  the  apparent  discrepancies  in  the 
history  of  the  flood,  Chs.  VI.-VIII.     See  — 


GENESIS.  13 

"History  of  the  Old  Covenant"     .     .     .     Kurtz,  J.  H. 

Commentaries. 

Cyclopedias,  article  "  Noah." 

Bib.  Sac.  vol.  17  (universality  doubtful). 

(d)  A  harmony  of  Ch.  XII.  10-20  and  Ch.  XX.  and 
Ch.  XXVI.  i-ii  ;  three  stories  or  one.^  See  Com.  of 
Delitzsch  and  others. 

{e)  A  harmony  of  Ch.  XV.  13  and  Ex.  XII.  40.  See 
Coms. 

Other  difficulties  pertain  chiefly  to  textual  criticism, 
or  such  as  are  raised  by  Colenso.  See  his  works  and 
replies. 

GENERAL   LITERATURE. 

"  Origin  of  Nations  " Lenormant,  F. 

*' Origin  of  Nations  " Rawlinson,  G. 

"  History  of  Ancient  Eg>'pt " Rawlinson,  G. 

"  Eg\-pt  and  Babylon  " Rawlinson,  G. 

''Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  the  Old  Testament"  .  Schrader,  E. 

"  Emperors  of  Eg)-pt " Brugsch-Bey,  H. 

"  Manners  and  Customs  of  Eg}-pt "  (last  edition),  Wilkinson,  J.  G. 

"  Genesis  and  its  Authorship  " Quarry,  J. 

"  Hours  with  the  Bible  " Geikie,  C. 

"Daily  Bible  Illustrations."  Edited  by  Porter,  J.  L.  Kitto,  J. 

"  The  Pharaohs  of  the  Bondage  and  the  Exodus  "  Robinson,  C.  S. 

"  Abraham,  Joseph,  and  Moses  in  Eg}'pt "      .    .  Kellogg,  A.  H. 


THE  MIDDLE   BOOKS    OF  THE    PENTATEUCH 


These  are  Exodus,  Leviticus,  and  Numbers,  and 
are  so  named  because  they  hold  a  unique  and  quite 
well-defined  relation  to  each  other,  forming  essentially 
one  book.  Genesis  leads  to  it ;  Deuteronomy  is  a  sum- 
mary of  it.  Lange  calls  Exodus  "  the  prophetic  book  of 
the  theocracy";  Leviticus,  "the  priestly  book";  and 
Numbers,  "the  kingly  book,  the  book  of  the  army,  its 
preparations  and  marches,  and  service  of  the  heavenly 
King."  As  a  mnemonic,  the  division  is  helpful.  See 
his  General  Intro,  vol.,  Exodus  and  Leviticus. 


2.    EXODUS. 

Chapters,  40. 

§  1.  Scope  of  Thought.  —  The  title  in  Hebrew, 
translated,  is,  "and  these  are  the  names,"  or  briefly, 
"  names,"  from  the  first  words.  The  title  of  the  Sept. 
is  "Ef  0809  ;  of  the  Vulgate,  Exodus.  The  book  of  Exo- 
dus continues  the  story  of  the  sojourn  of  the  Hebrews 
in  Egypt,  found  in  Genesis,  and  carries  it  on  from  their 
deliverance  from  Egyptian  servitude  to  their  national 
and  theocratic  organization, 

§  2.  General  Analysis.  —  It  may  be  divided  into  two 
main  divisions,  History  and  Legislation:  History, 
Chs.  I.-XVHI. ;  Legislation,  Chs.  XIX.-XL.     Or,  call- 


EXODUS.  15 

ing  the  whole  history,  it  may  be  summed  up,  as  by 
Perowne,  "  into  three  clearly  marked  stages.  First,  we 
see  a  nation  enslaved ;  next,  a  nation  redeemed ;  lastly, 
a  nation  set  apart,  and  through  the  blending  of  its  relig- 
ious and  political  life  consecrated  to  the  service  of 
God."     Smith's  Bib.  Diet.,  art.  ''  Exodus." 

§  3.  Minuter  Analysis. —  i.  The  oppression  of  the 
Hebrews  in  Egypt.     Ch.  I. 

2.  Birth,  call,  commission  and  beginning  of  the  offi- 
cial work  of  Moses.     Chs.  II.-VI. 

3.  The  ten  plagues  and  the  ordinance  of  the  Pass- 
over.    Chs.  VII.-XII. 

4.  The  escape  from  Egypt  and  journey  to  Sinai. 
Chs.  XIII.-XVIII. 

5.  The  Moral  Law.     Chs.  XIX.-XX. 

6.  The  Civil  Law.     Chs.  XXI.-XXIV. 

7.  The  Ceremonial  Law,  including  the  plan  and 
building  of  the  Tabernacle  (with  the  episode  concerning 
the  first  breach  of  the  covenant,  Chs.  XXXII.-XXXIV). 
Chs.  XXV.-XL. 

§4.  Difficulties.  —  (a)  Duration  of  the  sojourn  in 
Egypt;  i.e.,  the  reconciliation  of  Gen.  XV.  13,  14  with 
Exodus  XII.  35,  40,  41  and  i  Kings  VI.  i  and  Gal.  III. 
17.  See  "Old  Covenant,"  Kurtz,  J.  H.,  vol.  2;  "Chro- 
nology," Smith's  Bib.  Diet.,  appendix,  Bartlett,  S.  C. 

(d)  The  exact  lineage  of  Moses.     See  Coms. 

(c)  The  exact  time  of  the  departure  from  Egypt.  See 
Coms. ;  O.  T.  Student,  July,  '88  ;  Bible  Com. 

(d)  A  harmony  between  Chs.  XX.  and  XXXIV.  See 
Coms.,  Lange. 


l6  PENTATEUCH. 

{e)  What  may  be  termed  the  Colenso  criticism. 

(/)  The  analogy  between  the  supernatural  events  and 
the  natural  facts.  See  "  Egypt  and  the  Five  Books  of 
Moses,"  Hengstenberg,  E.  W. 

{g)  The  exact  route  of  the  Hebrews  from  Egypt  to 
Canaan.  See  *'  From  Egypt  to  Canaan,"  Bartlett,  S.  C.  ; 
*'  Desert  of  the  Exodus,"  Palmer,  E.  H.  ;  *'  Kadesh  Bar- 
nea,"  Trumbull,  H.  C.  ;  ''The  Store-city  and  the  Route 
of  the  Exodus,"  Naville,  Edouard. 

GENERAL  LITERATURE. 

"Moses,  the  Lawgiver" Taylor,  W.  M. 

*' History  of  the  People  of  Israel"  .     .  Ewald,  H. 

"Moses,  a  Biblical  Study" Oosterzee,  J.  J. 

"Ingersoll  and  Moses" Curtiss,  S.  I. 

"  Harmony  of  the  Egyptian  and  Mosaic 

Records  " Methodist  Quarterly,  '80. 

"Mosaic  Dispensation" Bampton  Lectures, '56. 

„,     .^      .        <-,,,      .^,  ,.  (■  Christian  Review,  vol.  28 : 

"  Signification  of  the  Mosaic  Tabernacle  "  -j  p     ,  j^  g 

"  The  Representative  System  in  the  Con- 
stitution of  Moses  "     Bib.  Sac.  vol.  15. 

"  Humaneness  of  the  Mosaic  Code"  .     .  Bib.  Sac.  vol.  19. 

"  Ruling  Ideas  in  Early  Ages,  and  their 

Relation  to  O.  T.  Faith "     .     .     .     .  Mozley,  J.  B. 

•'  Abraham,  Joseph,  and  Moses  in  Egypt "  Kellogg,  A.  H. 

*'  Remarks  on  the  Mistakes  of  Moses  "   .  Hastings,  H.  L. 


3.    LEVITICUS. 

Chapters,  27. 

§  1.  Preliminary  Remarks. —  I.  The  Hebrew  title  as 
translated  is,  "And  he  called."  The  translators  of  the 
Sept.  gave  the  name  Leviticus  to  the  book,  because  it 
treats  of  the  duties  of  the  priests,  the  sons  of  Levi.  In 
the  Talmud  (Bab.)  it  is  called  "The  Law  of  the  Priests," 
"Book  of  the  Law  of  Offerings."  Levites,  as  distin- 
guished from  priests,  are  mentioned  but  once,  and  that 
incidentally,  Ch.  XXV.  32,  33. 

2.  The  connection  between  this  book  and  Exodus,  on 
one  hand,  and  that  of  Numbers,  on  the  other,  is  quite 
close.  The  close  of  Exodus  gives  us  the  erection  of 
the  Tabernacle,  with  its  furniture,  the  cloud  which  cov- 
ered it,  and  the  Glory  of  Jehovah  with  which  it  was 
filled.  Hitherto  Jehovah  had  spoken  from  Sinai ;  hence- 
forth he  will  reveal  his  will  from  the  Tabernacle.  The 
Book  of  Leviticus  is  chiefly  occupied  with  the  method 
of  this  revelation.  The  close  of  Leviticus  gives  much 
of  the  remaining  legislation  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Sinai,  and  Numbers  opens  with  the  military  census  and 
matters  preparatory  to  the  march  of  the  Hebrews  from 
Sinai. 

3.  "  The  whole  period  between  the  setting  up  of  the 
Tabernacle  (Ex.  XL.  17)  and  the  final  departure  from 
Mount  Sinai  (Num.  X.  11)  was.  but  one  month  and 
twenty  days.  Much  of  this  was  occupied  by  the  events 
recorded  in  the  earlier  chapters  of  Numbers,  especially 
the  offerings  of  the  princes  on  twelve  days  (Num.  VH.), 


l8  PENTATEUCH. 

which  must  have  almost  immediately  followed  the  con- 
secration of  the  priests  and  the  Tabernacle  (Num.  VII. 
I  with  Lev.  VIII.  lo,  ii),  and  the  celebration  of  the 
second  Passover  (IX.  1-5),  occupying  seven  days,  and 
begun  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  first  month.  All 
the  events  of  Leviticus  must  therefore  be  included 
within  less  than  the  space  of  one  month."  Introd.  to 
Leviticus,  Lange,  Gardner,  Frederic. 

4.  For  the  theory  of  Bertheau  and  others,  that  all  the 
laws  of  Moses  are  fashioned  after  the  pattern  of  the 
Ten  Words,  each  subject  being  treated  with  ten  divis- 
ions, see  "  Leviticus,"  Smith's  Bib.  Diet. 

5.  Historical  episodes  characterize  this  book,  as  they 
do  the  other  middle  books. 

§  2.  Analysis.  —  The  book  may  be  divided  into  two 
main  parts  :  — 

I.  Laws  for  approach  to  God.     Chs.  I, -XVI. 

II.  Laws  for  continued  communion  with  God  Chs. 
XVII.-XXVII. 

Part  I.  may  be  subdivided  into  laws  of  sacrifice,  Chs. 
I. -VII.  ;  an  historical  portion,  Chs.  VIII.-X.  ;  laws 
of  purity ;  and  the  day  of  atonement,  Chs.  XI. -XVI. 

Part  II.  may  be  subdivided  into  laws  of  holiness  on 
the  part  of  the  people,  Chs.  XVI I. -XX.  ;  laws  of  holi- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  priests  and  offerings,  Chs.  XXI. 
-XXII.  ;  and  the  sanctification  of  the  feasts,  Chs. 
XXIII.-XXV.,  with  an  historical  portion,  Ch.  XXIV. 
10-23.  The  concluding  chapters  (Chs.  XXVI.  and 
XXVII.)  contain  promises  and  threatenings,  and  rules 
concerning  vows,  things  devoted,  and  tithes. 


LEVITICUS.  19 

§  3.  Difficulties.  —  In  this  book  they  belong  chiefly 
to  the  dismemberment  theories  of  the  Newer  Criticism. 
The  book  finds  its  key  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

LITERATURE. 

"O.T.  Theology" Oehler,  G.  F. 

"Concerning  Sacrifices" Outram,  W. 

Com.,  Introd «     .     .     .     .  Murphy,  J. 

"On  the  Origin  of  Sacrifice"    .    .     .  Faber,  G.  S. 
**  Inquiry  into  the  Origin  and  Intent 

of  Primitive  Sacrifice "    .     .     .     .  Davison,  J. 

"Hebrews" Dissertation  2,  Tholuck,  A. 

"  Old  Covenant " Kurtz,  J.  H. 

"The  Typology  of  Scripture"  .     .     .  Fairbairn,  P. 

"  The  Revelation  of  Law  in  Scripture  "  Fairbairn,  P. 

"Pulpit  Com." 

"  O.  T.  Com.  for  English  Readers  "    .  Ellicott,  C.  J. 


4.  NUMBERS. 

Chapters,  36. 

§  1.  Title.  —  This  book  is  so  called  from  the  Latin 
translation  of  the  Sept.  title  {apiOiioi  =  Numeri),  because 
it  contains  a  census  or  muster-roll  of  the  people,  in  Chs. 
I.-IV.  and  XXVI.  By  the  later  Jews  it  was  named 
from  the  first  word  of  the  text  "And  he  spake,"  as 
indicating  historical  connection,  or  by  the  fifth  word 
"In  the  Wilderness,"  because  of  the  location  of  the 
scenes  recorded  in  it.  It  gives  a  history  of  the  Hebrews 
from  the  second  month  of  the  second  year  from  the 
departure  from  Egypt,  to  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh 
month  of  the  fortieth  year  of  their  sojournings,  — about 
thirty-eight  years  and  nine  months.  Num.  I.  i,  and 
XXXVI.  13,  andDeut.  I.  3. 

§  2.  Analysis.  —  Perowne  (Smith's  Bib.  Diet.,  art. 
"  Numbers  ")  gives  the  following  as  a  general  analysis. 

"  I.  The  preparation  for  the  departure  from  Sinai. 
Chs.  I.-X.   10. 

"  2.  The  journey  from  Sinai  to  the  borders  of  Canaan. 
Chs.  X.  ii-XIV.  45. 

"3.  A  brief  notice  of  laws  given  and  events  which 
transpired  during  the  thirty-seven  years'  wandering  in 
the  wilderness.     Chs.  XV.-XIX.  22. 

"4.  The  history  of  the  last  year,  from  the  second  arrival 
of  the  Israelites  in  Kadesh  till  they  reach  '  the  plains  of 
Moab  by  Jordan  near  Jericho.'     Chs.  XX.-XXXVI." 


NUMBERS.  21 

This  may  be  subdivided  thus  :  — 

A.  {a)  The  census  of  the  twelve  Tribes  and  their 
arrangement  in  the  army.     Chs.  I. -I I. 

(b)  The  census  of  the  Levites  and  the  arrangement 
of  their  services  in  the  Tabernacle.     Chs.  III.-IV. 

{c)  The  purification  of  the  camp  by  the  removal  of 
unclean  persons  from  it.     Ch.  V. 

{d)  The  consecration  of  the  Nazarites.     Ch.  VI. 

{e)  The  offerings  by  the  heads  of  the  tribes  to  the 
Tabernacle.     Ch.  VII. 

(/)  The  consecration  of  the  Levites.     Ch.  VIII. 

{g)  The  celebration  of  the  Passover.     Ch.  IX.  1-14. 

{h)  Rules  for  the  movements  of  the  army.  Chs.  IX. 
15-X.  10. 

B.  {a)  The  departure.     Ch.  X.  11-35. 

{b)  The  first  murmuring,  on  account  of  the  length  of 
the  way  :  punished  by  fire  at  Taberah.     Ch.  XI.  1-3. 

{c)  The  second  murmuring,  for  flesh  instead  of  manna : 
punished  by  a  pestilence.     Ch.  XI.  4-35. 

id)  The  third  murmuring,  of  Aaron  and  Miriam  against 
Moses  :  punished  by  the  leprosy  of  Miriam.     Ch.  XII. 

{e)  The  fourth  murmuring,  connected  with  the  "  evil 
report "  of  the  spies  sent  to  explore  Canaan :  punished 
by  the  threatened  death  of  all  who  were  twenty  years 
old  and  upward,  except  Joshua  and  Caleb.  Chs.  XIII.- 
XIV.     (See  Ps.  90.) 

C.  {a)  Some  special  laws  concerning  worship.  Ch. 
XV. 

{b)  The  fifth  murmuring  and  rebellion  of  Korah  and 
his  company,  with  their  punishment.     Ch.  XVI.  1-40. 


22  '  PENTATEUCH. 

{c)  The  sixth  murmuring,  that  of  the  people  against 
Moses  and  Aaron  for  the  punishment  inflicted  on  Korah 
and  his  company,  their  punishment,  and  the  defence  of 
Aaron  as  to  the  authority  of  his  priesthood  (episode  of 
the  red  heifer.     Ch.  XIX.),     Chs.  XVI.  41-XIX. 

D.  {a)  The  seventh  murmuring,  for  water,  the  unbe- 
lief of  Moses,  and  its  result  upon  him.     Ch.  XX. 

(b)  The  eighth  murmuring,  because  of  the  weariness 
of  the  way  in  encompassing  Edom  :  punished  by  fiery 
serpents.  Also  events  following,  with  songs  from  "  the 
Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah."     Ch.  XXI.  1-20. 

{c)  A  history  of  the  events  which  took  place  in  the 
plains  of  Moab.     Ch.  XXI.  21-XXXVI. 

§  3.  Difficulties.—  I.  A  harmony  of  Chs.  I.-IV.  and 
XXVI.  See  Introd.,  Home,  *'  Old  Covt,"  Kurtz,  J.  H., 
and  Coms. 

2.  An  exact  itinerary  of  the  wanderings.  See  Bart- 
lett,  Trumbull,  Home,  etc. 

3.  The  historicity,  age,  and  genuineness  of  the  episode 
concerning  Balaam.  See  "  History  of  Balaam  and  his 
Prophecy,"  Hengstenberg,  E.  W. ;  "  Bible  Studies," 
Kalisch,  M.  M. ;  Bib.  Sac,  vol.  3,  Robbins,  R.  D.  C. ; 
O.  T.  Student,  '85,  Stebbins,  R.  R 

4.  "The  Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah."  What  were 
they  ? 

LITERATURE. 

Encyc.  Brit.,  art.  "  Numbers,"  and  other  Encycs, 

Literature  in  Confirmation  of  the  Truthfulness  of 
THE  Middle  Books. 

**  Hist,  and  Sig.  of  the  Tabernacle"     .     .     .     Atwater,  E.  E. 
"  The  Wonderful  Tent " Randall,  D.  A. 


NUMBERS.  23 

"  Sinai  and  Palestine  " Stanley,  A.  P. 

••Biblical  Researches  in  Palestine".     .     .     .  Robinson,  E. 

•♦History  of  the  Jews" Milman,  H.  H. 

"  Jewish  Church,"  vol.  i Stanley,  A.  P. 

"Moses  and  the  Prophets" Green,  W.  H. 

••  The  Land  and  the  Book,"  3  vols Thomson,  W.  M. 

'•  Historical  Character  of  the  Pent.  Vindi- 
cated"      Warrington,  Geo. 

"  Authenticity  of  the  Pent." Hengstenberg,  E.W. 

*♦  The  Most  Important  Difficult  Sections  of 

the  Pent.  Explained,"  vol.  i Hengstenberg,  E.  W. 

••  Introd.  to  the  Pent." Havernick,  H.  A.  Ch. 

••  Records  of  the  Past." 

•♦The  Pent.  :     Its  Authorship,    Credibility, 

and  Civilization  " Smith,  W. 

•'Ancient  History  from  the  Monuments,"  5  vols. 

••  Oriental  Records,"  2  vols. 


5-    DEUTERONOMY. 

Chapters,  34. 

§  1.  Title  and  Author.  —  The  later  Jews  name  this 
book  from  the  first  two  words  of  the  Hebrew  text, 
**  These  are  the  Words,"  or  shorter,  "Words."  By- 
some  Rabbins  it  is  called  "  The  Repetition  of  the 
Law  "  ;  by  others,  "  The  Book  of  Reproofs."  The 
Sept.,  of  which  the  Latin  is  the  transliteration,  gives 
our  word  Deuteronomy,  i.e.  Second  Law,  because  it 
contains  a  restatement  of  many  of  the  laws  which 
Moses  had  previously  given  to  the  people.  In  the 
Hebrew  text  there  is  no  connecting  waw,  as  is  the 
case  with  the  other  books  of  the  Pent.  ;  indicating 
that  the  legislation  for  the  Hebrews  was  substantially 
closed,  and  that  this  book  might  properly  be  looked 
at  as  a  resume  or  conclusion  of  Hebrew  history  prior 
to  the  occupation  of  Canaan. 

Tradition,  Jewish  and  Christian,  assigns  the  author- 
ship of  the  book  to  Moses  ;  and  the  date  to  the  close  of 
his  life.  Many  modern  conservative  critics  adhere  to 
this  opinion ;  but  the  Newer  Criticism,  reasoning  from 
peculiarities  of  style,  supposed  anachronisms,  and  dis- 
crepancies, assigns  it  to  an  unknown  author  in  the  time 
of  Josiah,  B.C.  621.  See  Lange,  Deut.,  Introd.  and 
Appendix;  Smith's  Bib.  Diet.  art.  "Deut.";  "People's 
Book";  "The  Pent.  :  Its  Origin  and  Structure,"  Bissell, 
E.  C. ;  Cyclopedias  and  Coms. 

Whoever  the  author,  the  book  is  very  noticeable  for 


DEUTERONOMY.  2$ 

unity  of  plan.     Summarily,  it  might  be  called  Moses' 
Farewell  Addresses. 

§  2.  Analysis. —  I.  First  address  of  Moses,  in  the 
plains  of  Moab,  shortly  before  his  death,  giving  a  resume 
of  the  last  forty  years  in  the  history  of  the  people,  with 
exhortations  to  fidelity  to  their  sacred  calling  as  a 
nation,  and  warnings  and  threatenings  in  case  of  dis- 
obedience, Chs.  I. -IV.  40 ;  (Episode,  the  selection  of 
three  cities  of  refuge  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan,   IV. 

41-43). 

2.  Second  address,  including  the  repetition  of  the 
Decalogue,  the  centralization  of  worship  at  one  altar 
(Ch.  XII.),  the  emancipation  of  Hebrew  slaves,  the 
rights  of  priests  and  Levites,  etc.,  in  substance  a  repeti- 
tion and  commentary  upon  the  moral,  ceremonial,  and 
civil  laws  of  the  Middle  books.     Chs.  IV.  44-XXVI. 

3.  Third  address,  which  may  be  briefly  called  ''The 
Blessing  and  the  Curse,"  with  the  attending  circum- 
stances.    Chs.  XXVII.-XXX. 

4.  Close  of  the  life  and  activity  of  Moses,  including 
the  consecration  of  Joshua.     Chs.  XXXI.-XXXIV. 

§  3.  DiflSculties. —  i.  These  are  chiefly  those  pre- 
sented by  the  Newer  Criticism.  See  appendix  of  "  The 
Pent.  :  Its  Origin  and  Structure,"  Bissell,  E.  C,  for 
literature. 

2.  A  harmony  of  the  laws  as  found  in  the  Middle 
books  and  those  of  Deut.  as  to  occasion  and  language, 
starting  questions  concerning  Divine  inspiration. 

3.  The  last  chapter  (XXXIV.)  is  doubtless  the  work 
of   some   other   writer  than    Moses,    as  it  records  his 


26  PENTATEUCH. 

death.  Critics  vary.  For  centuries  it  has  been  a  bone 
of  contention.  Conservatives  think  it  the  work  of 
Joshua  or  Eleazar;  some  that  it  is  the  introductory- 
chapter  to  the  Book  of  Joshua. 


II.   EARLIER    PROPHETS. 


I.   JOSHUA. 

Ohapters,  24. 

In  the  Hebrew  Bible,  Joshua  stands  at  the  head  of 
a  series  of  books  designated  the  ''  Earlier  Prophets," 
including,  with  Joshua,  Judges,  i  and  2  Samuel,  and 
I  and  2  Kings.  They  are  so  called  by  the  Massorites 
partly  because  Jewish  tradition  deemed  them  the  work 
of  the  prophets,  and  partly  because  they  recount  largely 
the  deeds  of  prophets.  Each  book,  however,  must  be 
tested  by  itself  as  to  age  and  authorship.  They  cover 
the  period  of  Israelitish  history,  summarily  stated  as 
follows  :  (i)  The  rule  of  Joshua  and  the  elders  who 
succeeded  him.  (2)  The  rule  of  native  kings.  (3)  The 
rule  of  foreign  invaders. 

§  1.  Author.  —  The  Book  of  Joshua  is  so  named,  not 
from  its  author,  but  as  a  history  of  the  exploits  of  its 
chief  hero.  It  is  so  closely  connected  in  narrative  with 
the  close  of  the  Pent,  that  the  later  criticism  deems  it 
a  part  of  one  whole,  with  the  title  Hexateuch.  Tradi- 
tion, Jewish  and  Christian,  assigns  its  authorship  to 
Joshua.  By  modern  critics  it  is  assigned  to  Eleazar,  or 
one  of  the  elders,  Samuel,  Jeremiah,  or  some  unknown 
writer  after  the  Babylonian  captivity.  As  to  the  tradi- 
tional view,  it  is  argued  in  favor  of  it,  — 


ZS  EARLIER    PROPHETS. 

(a)  That  Joshua  was  well  qualified  for  such  a  work, 
would  be  specially  interested  in  preserving  the  facts  in 
the  history  of  his  people,  and  would  naturally  record 
them  or  cause  them  to  be  recorded. 

(d)  That  according  to  Ch.  XXIV.  26,  he  wrote  an 
account  of  "The  Covenant"  at  Shechem,  and  placed  it 
in  "The  Book  of  the  Law." 

(c)  That  his  special  intercourse  with  Jehovah,  and 
with  the  Captain  of  Jehovah's  Hosts,  implies  a  record 
by  himself  or  from  his  lips. 

(d)  That  the  two  addresses  (Chs.  XXIII.-XXIV.) 
seemingly  require  documents  of  his  own  or  of  his 
dictation. 

(e)  That  Ch.  VI.  25  implies  at  least  a  contemporary 
writer,  and  so  does  Ch.  V.  i  and  6,  if  the  K^thibh  is  the 
correct    reading.      See    Imperial  Diet.,  Fairbairn,    art. 

"Joshua,"  for  other  arguments  on  this  side. 

Against  this  view,  {a)  That  Ch.  XXIV.  29-32  is 
evidently  by  a  later  hand. 

{b)  That  Ch.  XV.  18-20,  cf.  Judges  I.  10-15,  referring 
to  the  capture  of  Hebron  and  Debir,  unless  it  refers 
to  one  and  the  same  event,  implies  a  later  hand. 

{c)  That  the  capture  of  Laish  by  the  warriors  of  Dan 
implies  a  later  hand.  Cf.  Josh.  XIX.  47  with  Judges 
XVIII.  7  sq. 

{d)  That  the  remark  that  "the  Jebusites  dwell  with 
the  children  of  Israel  at  Jerusalem,"  implies  a  later 
hand.     Cf.  Josh.  XV.  6S  with  Judges  I.  8. 

Remark  I.  —  Keil  gives  the  following  passages  as 
evidence  that  the  book  is  to  be  dated  as  early  as  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  Saul. 

Ch.  XVI.  10;  cf.  I  Kings  IX.  16.  Canaanites  still  in 
Gezer. 


JOSHUA.  29 

Ch.  XV.  63  ;  cf.  2  Sam.  V.  6-9.  Expulsion  of  the 
Jebusites. 

Ch.  IX.  27;  cf.  2  Sam.  XXIV.  18-21  and  i  Chron. 
XXI.  18  sq.  and  XXII.  i  sq.,  i.e.  prior  to  the  temple. 

Ch.  XI.  8;  cf.  XIX.  28  and  XIII.  4-6,  as  to  Sidon 
and  Tyre  before  David's  time. 

Remark  2.  —  Most  conservatives  deem  the  book  the 
work  of  Joshua  or  of  one  of  his  contemporaries,  with 
sundry  additions  by  a  compiler  or  redactor. 

Keil  and  Bleek  in  their  Introductions  give  the  sub- 
stance of  the  late  discussions  on  the  subject.  Kuenen's 
"The  Hexateuch"  (translation)  contains  his  latest  opin- 
ions on  the  subject. 

§  2.  Design  of  the  Book.  —  This  is,  says  Keil,  "to 
furnish  historical  evidence  that  Joshua,  by  the  help  of 
God,  faithfully  performed  the  work  to  which  the  Lord 
had  called  him,  and  by  the  side  of  that  to  show  how,  in 
fulfilling  the  promises  which  he  gave  to  the  patriarchs, 
God  drove  out  the  Canaanites  before  Israel,  and  gave 
their  land  to  the  twelve  tribes  of  Jacob  for  a  permanent 
inheritance."     Com.  p.  2. 

Remark.  —  For  Joshua  as  a  type  of  Christ,  see  "An 
Exposition  of  the  Creed,"  Pearson,  J.,  in  loco. 

§  3.   Contents  of  the  Book. —  General  Analysis. 

1.  The  Conquest  of  Canaan.     Chs.  I.-XII. 

2.  The  Division  of  Canaan.     Chs.  XIII.-XXI. 

3.  The  Farewell  of  Joshua.     Chs.  XXII.-XXIV. 

Mimiter  Analysis: 
Under  I.    A.  The  Preparation. 
{a)  Summons  to  the  War.     Ch.  I. 
ip)  Mission  of  the  Spies  to  Jericho.     Ch.  II. 


30 


EARLIER    PROPHETS. 


B.  Crossing  the  Jordan. 

{a)  The  Divine  guidance  and  memorial  at  Gilgal. 
Chs.  III.-IV. 

{b)  The  consecration  of  Circumcision  and  instructions 
for  the  capture  of  Jericho.     Chs.  V.-VI.  5. 

C.  The  Conquest  of  Southern  and  Central 
Canaan. 

{a)   Jericho.  Ch.  VI.  6-27. 
{b)   Ai.  Chs.  VII.-VIII. 

{c)  The  battle  of  Beth-horon  and  its  results.  Chs. 
IX.-X. 

D.  The  Conquest  of  Northern  Canaan. 
{a)  The  northern  league.     Ch.  XI. 

{b)  Review  of  the  conquest.     Ch.  XII. 

Under  II.     A.    Division  of  Eastern  Canaan. 

{a)  Distribution  of  the  land  to  Reuben,  Gad,  and  half- 
tribe  of  Manasseh.     Ch.  XIII. 

{b)  Continuation  of  the  same,  and  the  assignment  of 
the  possession  of  Caleb.     Ch.  XIV. 

B.  Division  of  Western  Canaan. 
{a)  For  the  tribe  of  Judah.     Ch.  XV. 

{b)  For  the  tribes  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh.  Chs. 
XVI.-XVII. 

(c)  For  the  remaining  tribes  and  the  possession  of 
Joshua.     Chs.  XVIII.-XIX. 

C.  (a)  The  selection  of  the  cities  of  Refuge  and  of 
the  priestly  and  Levitical  cities.     Chs.  XX.-XXI. 

Under  III.  A.  The  Release  of  the  Eastern 
Tribes  from  the  Demands  of  the  War. 


JOSHUA.  31 

(a)  The  departure.     Ch.  XXII.  9. 
(d)  Settlement  of  a  bitter  controversy.     Ch.  XXII. 
10-34. 

B.    The  Farewells  of  Joshua  and  his  Death. 
(a)  First  address.     Ch.  XXIII. 

{d)  Second  address,  and  conclusion  of  the  book.  Ch. 
XXIV. 

§  3.  Difficulties.  —  I.  The  destruction  of  the  Canaan- 
ites.  Moral  right.  See  Introduction  to  Bible  Com., 
Lange ;  Keil,  Bleek ;  "  Introduction  to  Pent.,"  Haver- 
nick;  "The  Right  of  the  Israelites  to  Palestine,"  Heng- 
stenberg,  E.  W. ;  "  Lectures  on  the  Pent.,"  Graves,  R. ; 
"The  Typology  of  Scripture,"  book  3,  Fairbairn,  P.; 
"  History  of  the  Jewish  Church,"  vol.  i,  Stanley,  A.  P. ; 
"  Ruling  Ideas  in  Early  Ages,"  Mozley,  J.  B.,  Lectures 
4  and  II. 

2.  Exposition  of  Josh.  X.  9-14.  See  "  Introduction  to 
the  O.  T.,"  Davidson,  S.  "  History  of  Israel,"  Ewald, 
H. ;  "An  Apology  for  the  Bible,"  Watson,  R. ;  BibHcal 
Repository,  vol.  3. ;  Bib.  Sac.  vol.  14. 

LITERATURE. 

For  this,  which  is  very  full,  especially  in  the  geog- 
raphy of  Palestine,  consult  Smith's  Bib.  Diet.  art. 
"  Palestine,"  and  Lange's  Introduction  to  Joshua. 

JVoU. — A  careful  study  of  Joshua  gives  the  fount  for 
the  truthful  study  of  the  history  of  the  Jews.  Mosaism 
is  here  centralized  and  set  in  operation.  But  for  how 
short  a  time  ? 


2.  JUDGES. 

Chapters,  21. 

This  book  is  so  called  because  its  main  purpose  is  to 
record  the  deeds  of  some  thirteen  men,  who,  as  military 
heroes  in  special  emergencies,  won  for  the  Israelites 
deliverance  from  the  oppression  of  the  hostile  nations 
upon  their  borders.  It  covers  a  period  of  300  or  more 
years,  some  say  more  than  400  years,  and  includes 
events  from  the  death  of  Joshua  to  the  priesthood  of 
Eli.  It  is  an  important  link  in  the  history  of  the 
people,  especially  as  showing  the  chaotic  condition 
into  which  they  fell  after  their  great  leader  was  taken 
from  them.  How  soon  the  theocratic  element  essen- 
tially lost  its  power  over  them,  and  to  what  degree 
the  theocratic  ceremonialism  was  preserved  through 
these  troublous  times,  it  is  impossible  to  say;  but  as 
the  book  is  chiefly  confined  to  very  brief  accounts  of 
marked  restorations,  we  may  perhaps  assume  that  there 
was  "  a  holy  seed  which  is  the  substance  thereof  "  (Is. 
VI.  13),  which  continued  to  exist  and  often  produced 
its  legitimate  fruit.  Cassell  (Lange)  says:  "As  the 
periods  of  servitude  are  characterized  as  times  of  apos- 
tasy, while  those  of  independence  are  represented  as 
times  of  order,  it  is  not  unimportant  to  observe  that 
apostasy  prevailed  during  but  one-third  of  the  time  de- 
scribed." 

§  1.  Author  and  Date.  —  As  to  authorship  we  are 
left  to   conjecture,   with   little   probability   of   a   satis- 


JUDGES.  33 

factory  conclusion.  The  Talmud  assigns  it  to  Samuel, 
and  Keil  accepts  this  view  as  so  far  true  that  it  may  be 
the  product  of  one  of  his  disciples  written  at  his  request. 
He  thinks  from  Ch.  I.  2i,  that  it  must  have  been  writ- 
ten before  the  capture  of  Jerusalem,  and,  therefore, 
during  the  first  seven  years  of  the  reign  of  David. 
Many  agree  with  him.  If  unity  of  authorship  can  be 
maintained,  this  view  would  have  much  in  its  favor. 
Others  ascribe  it  to  Phinehas  (Judges  XX.  28),  Heze- 
kiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  Ezra.  Whoever  was  the 
author,  it  is  evidently  a  book  of  annals,  gathered  from 
various  documents,  and  compiled  with  a  moral  rather 
than  with  an  exact  historical  purpose.  This  is  evident 
from  the  two  episodes  (Chs.  XVII.-XXI.)  which  belong 
historically  to  a  period  soon  after  the  death  of  Joshua, 
and  are  the  key  to  the  moral  condition  of  the  people,  of 
which  the  rest  of  the  book  is  the  fuller  development. 
If  written  in  the  reign  of  David,  the  date  would  be 
between  1042  and   1023  b.c. 

§  2.  The  Chronology  of  the  Book.  —  This  is  hope- 
lessly obscure.  See,  for  the  conservative  view,  Keil's 
Introduction,  in  loco.  For  another,  Bleek's  ditto.  See 
also  Bible  Com.,  Preface,  and  Cassell's  able  introduc- 
tion in  Lange.  Also  "The  Chronology  of  the  Period 
of  the  Judges,"  O.  T.  Student,  Jan.  1884,  W.  J. 
Beecher. 

§  3.  Contents.  —  The  book  is  divided  into  three 
parts :  — ■ 

I.  An  Introduction,  or  rather  Introductions,  appar- 
ently designed  to  connect  the  history  with  that  given 
in  the  Book  of  Joshua.     Chs.  I.-III.  7. 


34  EARLIER    PROPHETS. 

(a)  Describes  the  condition  of  the  Israelites  immedi- 
ately after  the  death  of  Joshua.     Chs.  I.-II.  lo. 

(b)  A  more  formal  introduction  connecting  closely 
with  Part  2,  describing  the  relapse  of  the  people  into 
idolatry,  and  the  consequent  deliverance  into  the  power 
of  their  enemies.     Chs.  II.  ii-III.  7. 

2.  The  history  of  the  Judges.     Chs.  III.  8-XVI. 

{a)  The  servitude  of  the  tribes  east  of  the  Jordan  to 
the  king  of  Mesopotamia,  and  their  release  by  Othniel. 
Ch.  III.  8-1 1. 

{b)  The  servitude  of  the  Israelites  to  the  king  of 
Moab,  and  their  rescue  by  Ehud,  and  their  deliverance 
from  the  Philistines  by  Shamgar.     Ch.  III.  12--31. 

{c)  The  servitude  of  the  northern  tribes  to  Jabin,  and 
their  deliverance  by  Deborah  and  Barak,  including  the 
song  of  Deborah.     Chs.  IV.-V. 

{d)  The  servitude  of  the  eastern  and  northern  tribes, 
and  their  rescue  by  Gideon.     Chs.  VI. -IX. 

{e)  The  judgeships  of  Tola  and  Jair,  the  oppression 
of  the  Ammonites,  the  rescue  by  Jephthah,  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  Ibsan,  Elon,  and  Abdon.     Chs.  X.-XII. 

(/)  The  servitude  of  the  Israelites  to  the  Philistines, 
and  their  rescue  by  Samson.     Chs.  XIII.-XVI. 

3.  Two  Episodes.     Chs.  XVII.-XXI. 

{a)    The  idolatry  of  Micah  and  of  the  tribe  of  Dan. 

Chs.  xvn.-xviii. 

{b)  The  crime  of  Benjamin  in  defending  the  infamous 
deed  at  Gibeah,  and  the  terrible  internecine  war  which 
almost  extinguished  the  tribe.     Chs.  XX.-XXI. 

§  4.  Difficulties. —  I.  An  adjustment  of  the  two 
introductions. 


JUDGES.  35 

2.  An  adjustment  of  the  chronology  of  the  book  with 
I  K.  VI.  I. 

3.  The  relation  of  the  event  mentioned  in  Ch.  I.  21 
to  the  date  of  the  book. 

4.  A  question  whether  the  rule  of  the  Judges  was  in 
some  cases  contemporaneous  or  in  all  cases  consecu- 
tive. The  answer  relates  to  the  date  of  the  history  as 
recorded. 


LITERATURE. 


Bib.  Sac.  vol.  12. 


"The  Song  of  Deborah" 5„,,. 

*=*  ^  Robbins,  R.  D.  C. 

«  The  Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry  " Herder,  J.  G. 

"  Samson  Agonistes  " Milton,  John. 

-Jephthah'sVow" ^  Bib.  Sac.  vol.  29. 

•^  ^  ^  Warren,  S. 

"  History  of  the  Jews  " Milman,  H.  H. 

"  History  of  the  Jewish  Church."    Vol.  I.     .     .   Stanley,  A.  P. 
"Judges" Lange. 

"  Daily  Bible  lUustrations" ^  ^!"°' i" 

^  ^  ed.  by  Porter,  J.  L. 

«  Hours  with  the  Bible  " Geikie,  C. 


3.    I  AND  2   SAMUEL. 

Chapters :  1  Sam.,  31 ;  2  Sam.,  24. 

§  1.  Titles  and  Division.  —  The  two  Books  of  Sam- 
uel, like  the  two  Books  of  Kings,  were  originally  an 
undivided  whole.  (N.B.  The  Massoritic  note  at  the 
close  of  the  2d  Book  in  the  Hebrew  Bible,  giving  the 
number  of  verses,  treats  them  as  one.)  The  Sept.  deem- 
ing the  Book  of  Samuel  and  the  Book  of  Kings  to  be 
a  complete  history  of  the  kingdom  from  its  foundation 
to  its  fall,  divided  the  work  into  four  books  and  called 
them  "  Books  of  the  Kingdoms "  (ffiffXot  ^aa-tXeiayv). 
Jerome,  in  the  Vulgate,  followed  this  division,  changing 
the  title  from  *'  Books  of  the  Kingdoms,"  to  **  Books  of 
the  Kings "  (Libri  Regum).  This  division  was  first 
introduced  into  printed  Hebrew  Bibles  by  Bombey, 
printer  in  Venice,  in  1518. 

§  2.  Meaning  of  the  Title. — The  title  "Samuel "  does 
not  mark  authorship,  but  like  the  titles  Joshua,  Ruth, 
Esther,  indicates  the  leading  actor  in  the  events  of  the 
book.  He  was  the  chief  agent  in  establishing  the 
kingdom  of  Israel,  and  in  guiding  the  chosen  people,  in 
the  crisis  of  a  transition  from  the  rule  of  the  judges  to 
that  of  a  king.  The  book  begins  with  an  account  of 
his  birth,  and  closes  with  the  reign  of  the  king  whom 
he  anointed.  It  covers  a  period  of  about  125  years, 
1140-1015  B.C. 


I    AND    2    SAMUEL.  37 

§  3.  Author.  —  Unknown.  A  late  Jewish  tradition 
assigns  it  to  Samuel.  This  could  only  apply  to  the  first 
twenty-four  chapters  of  the  first  book,  inasmuch  as  Ch. 
XXV.  I  records  his  death.  It  is  generally  admitted  that 
the  book  is  a  compilation  from  various  sources,  but  the 
compiler  is  unknown. 

§  4.  Sources.  —  {a)  Probably  contemporary  propheti- 
cal histories.  The  compiler  of  the  Chronicles  specially 
names  as  the  original  authority  for  the  reign  of  David, 
"the  chronicler,  or  words  of  Samuel  the  seer"  (nS1)> 

of  "  Nathan  the  prophet  "  (S'^DJ),  and  of  "Gad  the  seer," 

(nih))   I  Chron.   XXIX.  29.      Similarly,  for  the  reign 

of  Solomon  he  names  "  Nathan  the  prophet,"  2  Chron. 
IX.  29.  If  this  view  be  correct,  then  Samuel  might  be 
the  historian  of  his  own  lifetime,  and  Nathan  and  Gad 
the  historians  of  the  portions  which  cover  the  reign 
of  David. 

{b)  "The  Chronicles  of  King  David"  (i  Chron. 
XXVII.  24)  may  have  been  consulted,  giving  the  for- 
mal summaries  of  wars,  and  lists  of  officials,  2  Sam. 
VIII.  1-15;  VIII.  16-18;  XX.  23-26;  XXIII.  8-39. 

{c)  The  National  Poetic  Literature  was  em- 
ployed. Song  of  Hannah,  i  Sam.  II.  i-io.  David's 
lament  for  Abner,  2  Sam.  III.  33-34.  David's  thanks- 
giving, 2  Sam.  XXII.  ;  cf.  Ps.  XVIII.  The  last  words 
of  David,  2  Sam.  XXIII.  1-7.  These  were  preserved 
in  oral  or  in  written  form ;  which,  is  uncertain. 

§  5.  Date.  —  {a)  The  language  points  to  an  early  date. 
It  is  pure  Hebrew,  free  from  Aramaisms  and  late  forms. 


38  EARLIER    PROPHETS. 

Constructions,  such  as  are  found  in  Kings,  are  not 
found  in  Samuel. 

{b)  Some  time  after  the  events  recorded,  however, 
e.g.  the  explanation  of  archaic  terms,  i  Sam.  IX.  9; 
reference  to  obsolete  customs,  e.g.  2  Sam.  XIII.  18, 
Gen.  XXXVII.  3,  23;  the  frequent  formula — "unto 
this  day" — e.g.  i  Sam.  V.  5,  2  Sam.  IV.  3,  etc. 

{c)  After  the  death  of  David,  since  the  whole  length 
of  his  reign  is  mentioned  {2  Sam.  V  5),  and  according 
to  the  Sept.  there  are  two  allusions  to  the  reign  of 
Rehoboam,  —  2  Sam.  VIII.  7  and  2  Sam.  XIV.  27. 
And,  if  we  do  not  accept  these  additions,  the  men- 
tion of  the  king  of  Judah  (i  Sam.  XXVII.  6)  seems  to 
presuppose  the  division  of  the  kingdom  into  northern 
and  southern  as  having  already  taken  place.  There  is 
nothing  which  points  to  a  later  date,  when  carefully 
considered,  though  the  critics  affirm  that  there  is,  even 
to  as  late  as  622  b.c. 

Note. — The  canonicity  of  the  book  is  unquestioned. 
For  textual  difficulties,  see  Introductions.  The  two  most 
important  manuscripts  of  the  Sept.  containing  the  Book 
of  Samuel  are  the  Alexandrian  {A)  of  the  fifth  century, 
now  in  the  British  Museum,  and  the  Vatican  {B),  as- 
signed to  the  fourth  century,  now  in  the  Vatican  library 
in  Rome. 

§  6.  General  Analysis.  —  There  are  three  main  divis- 
ions :  — 

(i)  History  of  Samuel,  as  the  restorer  of  the  theoc- 
racy and  founder  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  i  Sam.  I- 
VII. 

(2)  The  history  of  Saul  and  his  reign  until  his  death. 
I  Sam.  VIII.-XXXI. 


I    AND    2    SAMUEL.  39 

(3)  The  history  of  the  government  of  David.  2  Sam. 
I.-XXIV. 

§  7.  Messianic  Purpose  of  the  Book.  —  "  The  Mes- 
sianic character  of  the  Book  of  Samuel  is  one  of  its 
marked  features.  The  central  figure  of  the  book,  David, 
is  also  the  central  figure  of  Messianic  prophecy ;  the 
man,  who,  most  of  all  O.  T.  personages,  in  his  life,  ex- 
periences, and  character,  sums  up  the  life  of  the  ser- 
vants of  God,  and  thus  represents  the  great  Head  of 
them  all.  It  is  in  this  book  that  the  three  elements  of 
the  Jewish  state,  the  prophetic,  priestly,  and  kingly 
offices,  are  first  fully  established,  and  not  only  fix  the 
development  of  typical  Israel,  but  set  forth  the  func- 
tions of  the  anointed  Leader  of  the  true  Israel." 
Lange,  Introduction,  Toy,  C.  H. 

§8.  Difficulties. —  i.  Adjustment  of  the  chronology 
of  the  book.  See  Introductions,  Cambridge  Bible  for 
Schools,  Kirkpatrick,  A.  F.,  *'  Books  of  Samuel,"  Smith's 
Bib.  Diet.,  Bible  Com. 

2.  Adjustment  of  the  variations  between  the  Hebrew 
and  Greek  texts,  e.g.  i.  Sam.  Chs.  XVII.  and  XVIII. 
See  Introductions  and  Lange. 

3.  Adjustment  of  apparent  discrepancies,  e.g.  i  Sam. 
XXIII.  19,  XXIV.  22,  and  Ch.  XXVI.  See  Introduc- 
tions, Keil,  Bleek,  Lange's  Com. 

LITERATURE. 

*'  The  History  of  the  Jews  " Milman,  H.  H. 

"  Daily  Illustrations  of  the  Bible,"  ed.  by  Porter, 

J.  L Kitto,  J. 

"  Hours  with  the  Bible  " Geikie,  C. 


40  EARLIER    PROPHETS. 

A   "Book  Study,"  First  Samuel,  O.  T.  Student, 

March,  ^86 Harper,  W.  R. 

"  Books  of  Samuel,"  Smith's  Bib.  Diet.  "  Introduc- 
tion to  2d  Book  of  Samuel,"  Monthly  Inter- 
preter, May,  '86 Smith,  R.  P. 

"  Critical  History  of  David  " Chandler,  S. 

"  Four  Sermons  on  David  " Kingsley,  C. 

"David  the  King  of  Israel" Taylor,  W.  M. 

*♦  Prophets  and  Kings  of  the  O.  T." Maurice,  F.  D. 

"Heroes  of  Hebrew  History" Wilberforce. 

"  Shipwrecks  of  Faith  " Trench,  R.  C. 

"  History  of  the  Jewish  Church  " Stanley,  A.  P. 

"  The  History  of  Israel Ewald,  H. 


4.    I  AND  2  KINGS. 

Chapters :  1  Kings,  22  j  2  Kings,  25. 

§  1.  Title.  —  The  name  ^'Kings''  is  given  to  these 
books  from  their  contents,  and  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  other  books  of  this  group.  Originally  they  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  one  book,  the  division  into  two  first 
appearing  in  the  Sept.  The  two  should  be  studied  as 
one,  and  will  thus  be  found  to  give  a  connected  history 
from  the  reign  of  Solomon  to  the  Babylonian  Captivity. 

§  2.  Date.  —  Not  earlier  than  562  B.C.,  if  unity  of 
authorship  is  admitted.  At  the  close  of  the  book  it  is 
stated  that  King  Jehoiachin  was  carried  to  Babylon 
(599  B.C.),  and  was  a  prisoner  there  thirty-seven  years, 
and  hence  the  events  recorded  bring  us  to  the  date 
above  named.  That  the  author  wrote  later  than  the 
Return  from  the  Exile  (536  or  538)  seems  hardly  credi- 
ble, inasmuch  as  no  reference  to  that  event,  so  joyful  and 
so  important,  is  mentioned.  The  first  notice  of  it  is  in 
Ezra,  Ch.  I.  The  composition  of  the  book,  if  by  one  and 
the  same  author,  must,  therefore,  be  placed  between 
662  B.C.  and  536-8  B.C.,  or  in  the  second  half  of  the 
period  of  the  Exile. 

§  3.  Author.  —  Unknown.  Jewish  tradition,  Jere- 
miah. Much  can  be  said  in  favor  of  this  from  the 
possibility,  the  analogy  of  style,  and  the  fact  that  the 
last  chapter  of  Kings  and  the  last  chapter  of  Jere- 
miah   so    closely    coincide   in    thought    and   language. 


42  EARLIER    PROPHETS. 

This  view  is  maintained  by  A.  C.  Hervey,  Smith's  Bib. 
Diet.,  and  Bible  Com.  Others  (Bleek)  deem  it  the 
work  of  Baruch,  the  amanuensis  of  Jeremiah.  Others 
assign  it  to  Ezra.  Keil  thinks  it  is  the  work  of  some 
citizen  of  Judah  in  Babylon  during  the  Exile. 

§  4.  Sources.  —  The  author  cites  only  three  sources 
under  these  titles,  viz.  :  "  The  Book  of  the  Acts  of  Solo- 
mon," I  Kings  XI.  41  ;  "The  Book  of  the  Chronicles  of 
the  Kings  of  Judah,"  i  Kings  XIV.  29  sq. ;  and  "The 
Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Israel,"  i 
Kings  XIV.  19  sq.  These  seem  to  have  been 
separate  works,  current  in  the  author's  time.  The 
authors  of  these  books  are  supposed  to  have  been 
prophets,  contemporaneous  with  the  kings  whose  an- 
nals they  give,  such  as  Nathan,  Ahijah,  Iddo,  Isaiah, 
etc.  This  opinion  is  maintained  from  parallel  accounts 
in  the  Chronicles.  The  sections  of  the  book  pertaining 
to  the  lives  and  acts  of  Elisha  and  Elijah  were  probably 
drawn  from  some  monograph.  The  whole  book  is  a 
book  of  annals,  showing  honesty  in  the  use  of  materials 
well  known  at  the  time,  and  probably  perserved  in  the 
royal  archives. 

§  6.  Unity  and  Independence  of  the  Book.  —  Keil 
says :  "  Although  the  Books  of  Kings  are  for  the 
most  part  extracts  from  more  copious  annals,  yet  they 
are  not  a  compilation  from  various  writings  which  are 
partly  contradictory ;  they  are  the  labored  production 
of  one  author,  upon  a  peculiar  plan,  whose  internal 
unity  is  clear,  as  much  from  the  symmetry  of  the  repre- 
sentation as  from  the  unity  of  the  language."  Intro- 
duction, m  loco.     So  Bleek. 


I   AND  2  KINGS.  43 

§  6.  The  Design  of  the  Book.  —  As  sacred  history, 
the  key  of  the  book  is  found  in  the  Messianic  pas- 
sage, 2  Sam.  VII.  12-15.  This  is  as  clearly  the  de- 
sign of  the  book  as  the  alleged  Messianic  purpose  of 
the  Chronicles.  There  through  the  line  of  Judah  the 
theocratic  kingship  of  the  house  of  David  is  kept  his- 
torically distinct ;  here  the  promise  to  David  and 
the  threatenings  in  case  of  apostasy  on  the  part  of 
his  descendants,  yet  securing  the  preservation  of  that 
line,  are  apparent  on  every  page.  Doing  right  in  the 
sight  of  Jehovah,  doing  evil  in  the  sight  of  Jehovah, 
walking  in  the  footsteps  of  David,  sinning  after  the  sin 
of  Jeroboam,  son  of  Nebat,  are  the  keys  which  unlock 
the  secret  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  Jewish  Empires. 

§  7.  Contents.  —  The  history  extends  over  a  period 
of  about  453  years  ;  reckoning  from  Solomon's  acces- 
sion to  the  throne,  1015  b.c.  (usual  chronology),  to 
the  supplementary  notice  concerning  the  liberation  of 
Jehoiachin,  and  perhaps  a  Httle  later,  about  562  B.C.  It 
covers  the  whole  history  of  the  Israelitish  monarchy, 
except  the  reigns  of  Saul  and  David,  during  its  time  of 
power  and  its  period  of  decay  and  ruin ;  with  its  domin- 
ion from  the  Euphrates  to  the  Mediterranean  and  the 
border  of  Egypt,  reduced  to  a  wretched  remnant  of  ter- 
ritory subject  alternately  to  Egypt  and  Assyria,  i  Kings 
IV.  21. 

It  may  be  divided  into  three  parts. 

Part  I.  The  history  of  the  undivided  kingdom  under 
Solomon,      i  Kings  I. -XL 

Part  2.  The  history  of  the  divided  kingdoms  to  the 


44  EARLIER    PROPHETS. 

fall  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,     i  Kings  XII.-2  Kings 
XVII. 

Part  3.  The  history  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah  to  the 
Babylonian  Captivity.     2  Kings  XVIII.-XXV. 

§  8.  Diflaculties.  —  These  are  chiefly  chronological, 
especially  in  harmonizing  the  dates  of  different  dynas- 
ties with  similar  accounts  in  the  Chronicles  and  with 
the  contemporaneous  Assyrian  chronology.  The  diver- 
gencies are  not  very  large,  the  harmony  possible  on  the 
whole  by  various  hypotheses ;  but  minute  exactness, 
by  the  Hebrew  Text  as  we  have  it,  and  the  Sept.  as  an 
aid,  seems  impossible.  As  yet  no  satisfactory  solution 
has  been  found.  The  article  *'  Kings  "  in  Smith's  Bib. 
Diet,  gives  the  facts  quite  fully.^  The  introduction 
to  the  Bible  Com.  gives  much  historical  confirmation 
from  recent  Assyrian  and  Egyptian  researches.  See 
also  *'The  Ancient  Empires  of  the  East,"  Sayce,  A.  H. ; 
"Ancient  Monarchies,"  Rawlinson,  G. ;  "By-paths  of 
Bible  Knowledge,"  8  vols.,  Plumptre,  E.  H. ;  "  Cunei- 
form Inscriptions,"  Schrader,  E. ;  "  Assyrian  Inscrip- 
tions in  their  Bearing  on  O.  T.  History,"  Plumptre, 
E.  H. ;  The  Expositor,  2d  Series,  vols,  i,  2,  4;  "The 
Assyrian  Eponym  Canon  and  the  Chronology  of  the 
Bible,"  O.  T.  Student,  June,  'm,  Badger,  L.  F. ;  "The 
Book  of  Kings  in  Modern  Criticism,"  O.  T.  Student, 
May,  'd>6i  Schodde,  G.  R. ;  Bib.  Sac.  vol.  44,  Schwartz  J. 

1  The  statement  of  Hervey  in  Smith's  Bib.  Diet,  is  very  strong,  but  is 
worthy  of  consideration.  He  says,  "The  present  text  (i.e.  Heb,  Text), 
contains  what  are  either  conflicting  calculations  of  antagonistic  chronol- 
ogists,  or  errors  of  careless  copyists,  which  no  learning  or  ingenuity  has 
ever  been  able  to  reduce  to  the  consistency  of  truth." 


III.     LATER   PROPHETS. 


These,  as  arranged  in  the  Hebrew  Bible,  comprise 
two  groups,  (A)  The  Greater  Prophets,  (B)  The  Lesser 
Prophets. 

A.     THE    GREATER  PROPHETS. 

These  are  so  called,  not  as  an  index  of  rank,  but  as 
an  index  of  length.  Included  in  this  group  are  Isaiah, 
Jeremiah,  and  Ezekiel. 


I.   ISAIAH. 

Chapters,  66. 

§  1.  The  Author.  —  Of  Isaiah  we  Know  that  he  was 
the  son  of  Amoz,  Ch.  I.  i  ;  2  Kings  XIX.  2  ;  XX.  i, 
that  his  residence  was  probably  in  Jerusalem,  Ch.  VH. 
3  sq.  ;  XXn.  I  sq.,  that  he  was  a  married  man,  Ch. 
VII.  3  ;  Vin.  3,  18,  and  had  several  sons,  that  he  was 
divinely  called  to  his  work  as  a  prophet,  Ch.  VI.,  that 
he  was  the  author  of  a  sketch  of  Uzziah's  reign,  2  Chron. 
XXVI.  22,  and  of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  2  Chron. 
XXXn.  32,  and  that  the  events  of  his  life  as  given  in 
2  Kings  XV.-XIX.  include  the  capture  of  Samaria  by 
Tiglath-Pilezer,  Shalmanezer,  and  Sargon  (Assyrians) 
during  the  reign  of  Ahaz,  and  the  attack  of  Sennacherib 
upon  Jerusalem,  during  the   reign  of   Hezekiah.     See 


46  LATER    PROPHETS. 

"  History  of  the  Jewish  Church,"  Stanley,  A.  P.  ; 
Smith's  Bib.  Diet. ;  "  An  Ideal  Biography  of  Isaiah," 
Plumptre,  E.  H. ;  Expositor,  vol.  5,  2d  Series ;  "  Isaiah, 
his  Life,  and  Times,"  Driver,  S.  R. 

§  2.  Chronology  of  his  Prophecies.  —  According  to 
the  superscription  (Ch.  I.  i)  they  were  given  during  the 
reigns  of  Uzziah,  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  kings  of 
Judah.  If  the  superscription  were  intended  to  cover 
the  whole  book,  then,  according  to  the  current  chro- 
nology, his  prophecies  were  uttered  within  the  reign  of 
Hezekiah,  or  prior  to  698  b.c,  the  date  of  Hezekiah's 
death.  Uzziah,  the  first  named  king,  died  about 
759  B.C.  Subtracting  the  date  of  the  former  from 
that  of  the  latter,  we  have  from  death  to  death  a  min- 
istry of  sixty-one  years.  Assuming  that  he  was  twenty 
years  old  at  the  beginning  of  his  ministry,  he  would 
have  been  eighty  years  of  age  at  the  death  of  Hezekiah. 
Some  think  that  his  prophetical  life  extended  into  the 
reign  of  Manasseh,  and  that  he  died  a  martyr's  death. 
For  this  there  is  a  Talmudic  tradition,  and  the  statement 
of  Justin  Martyr,  "Dialogues  with  Trypho,"  p.  349. 
That  he  lived  later  than  the  death  of  Hezekiah  is  per- 
haps implied  in  2  Chron.  XXXII.  32.  His  prophetical  life, 
therefore,  was  sufficiently  long  to  cover  what  is  called 
the  "Earlier  Prophecies"  (Chs.  I.-XXXIX.),  and  the 
"  Later  Prophecies,"  so  called,  Chs.  XL.-LXVI. 

If  the  superscription  was  intended  merely  as  a  head- 
ing to  the  "  Earlier  Prophecies,"  the  date  of  the  "  Later 
Prophecies  "  is  left  in  uncertainty.  They  belong  to  the 
canon,  however,  and  must  antedate  200  b.c. 


ISAIAH.  47 

§  3.   Unity  of  the  Book  as  to  Authorship.  —  The 

book  has  been  assigned  by  Ewald  to  seven  authors,  and 
by  others  to  many  more.  See  "The  Prophecies  of 
Isaiah,"  Cheyne,  T.  K.,  vol.  2,  Essays  i,  2,  6. 

For  Ujiity  of  AuihorsJiip^  it  is  urged  that  there  are 
both  external  and  internal  evidences. 

Exter7tal  Evidence  — 

{a)  Tradition,  Christian  and  Jewish,  e.g.  Ecclesias- 
ticus  XLVIII.  24,  25,  covering  both  parts ;  Josephus, 
Antiquities,  XI.  i.  §  2,  ditto,  Jewish  Synagogue;  use  of 
language  by  later  prophets,  e.g.  Jer.  X.  1-16,  cf.  Is. 
XL.-XLV. ;  Jer.  L.-LL,  cf.  Is.  XIV. ;  Zeph.  II.  15,  cf. 
Is.  XLVII.  8;  Zeph.  III.  10,  cf.  Is.  XVI.  i.  and  LX.  4. 
See  Bible  Com.,  "Authenticity  of  Isaiah  vindicated," 
^mith,  R.  P. 

ip)  Quotations  in  the  N.  T.  —  about  n^  ^^  them ;  and 
they  are  nearly  equally  divided  between  the  so-called 
earlier  and  later  prophecies.  See  "  Quotations  in  the 
N.  T.,"  Toy,  C.  H  ;  Introductions. 

Internal  Evidence  — 

(a)  Similarity  of  style.  Granted  by  all  critics.  See 
"  Monthly  Interpreter,"  April,  'm^  Rawlinson,  G. 

{b)  Technical  expressions  common  to  both,  e.g.  "  The 
Servant  of  Jehovah,"  "The  Holy  One  of  Israel,"  pecu- 
liar to  Isaiah. 

(c)  Hymns  as  attached  to  prophecies,  common  to 
both  and  peculiar. 

(d)  The  infrequency  of  visions,  one  in  each.  Chs. 
VI.  and  LXIII. 


48  LATER   PROPHETS. 

{e)  The  infrequency  of  symbolical  representations. 
Chs.  VIII.,  XX.,  and  Ch.  LXII.  6. 

Against  Unity  of  Authorship,  it  is  urged  by  conser- 
vatives as  well  as  by  rationalists,  that  in  the  book  there 
are  at  least  two  authors,  a  genuine  and  a  pseudo-Isaiah. 
Their  main  contention  is  that  the  book  was  not  written 
in  the  form  in  which  we  now  have  it,  but  that  it  is  com- 
posed of  various  addresses  of  the  prophet,  with  addi- 
tions in  his  spirit,  put  in  their  present  form  by  his 
disciples,  to  which  some  writer  unknown,  later  than 
Ezekiel,  appended  the  last  twenty-seven  chapters. 
Their  reasons  are:  — 

{a)  That  the  standpoint  of  the  writer  is  the  Babylo- 
nian Exile.    He  sees  his  own  cities  in  ruin.   Ch.  LXIV. 

10,   II. 

{b)  That  he  names  the  future  deliverer,  Cyrus  {post 
eventum).  Ch.  XLIV.  28  and  XLV.  i  ;  cf.  i  Kings 
XIII.  2. 

{c)  That  the  style  and  mode  of  representation  in  the 
Later  Prophecies  differ  from  those  in  the  former  (more 
flowing). 

{d)  That  the  Talmud  places  Isaiah  after  Ezekiel, 
implying  a  later  time  than  Isaiah  for  at  least  the 
Later  Prophecies.  See  Bleek,  vol.  i,  p.  36.  It  seems 
to  be  an  arrangement  on  technical  grounds. 

{e)  That  the  book  is  not  prophecy  per  se,  but  his- 
torical. 

The  bulk  of  these  objections  pertains  to  the  possi- 
bility of  a  revelation  which  gives  antedated  history. 


ISAIAH. 


49 


§  4.  General  Analysis. —  Omitting  that  of  Chs.  I.- 
XXXIX.,  Chs.  XL.-LXVI.  may  be  divided  for  practi- 
cal purposes  as  follows  :  — 

Theme,  the  Promised  Redemptio7i  to  the  People  of  God. 
—  This  is  unfolded  in  the  first  division  by  a  comforting 
comparison  between  Jehovah  and  idols,  and  between 
the  chosen  Israel  and  outside  peoples.  Chs.  XL.- 
XLVIII.  Thought,  Jehovah's  ability  and  willingness 
to  execute  His  purpose. 

In  the  second  division  the  theme  is  unfolded  by  a 
comparison  between  the  selected  suffering  Messiah  and 
his  subsequent  glory,  as  indicating  the  medium  for  the 
execution  of  his  purpose.     Chs.  XLIX.-LVII. 

In  the  third  division  it  is  unfolded  by  a  comparison 
between  the  destiny,  present  and  future,  of  those  who 
welcome  Messiah  and  identify  themselves  with  him, 
and  those  who  reject  him.     Chs.  LVIII.-LXVI. 

Summarily,  there  are  three  leading  thoughts,  viz., 
Redemption  Promised,  Redemption  Provided,  Redemp- 
tion in  its  Results. 

§  5.  Style.  —  Ewald  says  :  "  Among  the  other  proph- 
ets, each  of  the  more  important  ones  is  distinguished 
by  some  one  peculiar  talent ;  in  Isaiah,  all  kinds  of 
talent  and  all  beauties  of  prophetic  discourse  meet 
together,  so  as  mutually  to  temper  and  qualify  each 
other ;  it  is  not  so  much  any  single  feature  which  dis- 
tinguishes him  as  the  symmetry  and  perfection  of  the 
whole. 

Note.  —  Key- Words  :  i.  The  name  of  the  prophet, 
"Jehovah    (is)    salvation,"   Is.  VIII.   i8.     2.    Shear- 

Jashub,     "A     REMNANT      SHALL      RETURN,"      Is.     VII.     3, 
X.    22. 


50  LATER   PROPHETS. 


LITERATURE. 

"  Messianic  Prophecy  " Briggs,  C.  A. 

"The  Book  of  Isaiah,"  Chs.  XL.-LXVI.     The 

Expositor,  vol.  6 Davidson,  A.  B. 

"  Isaiah  and  the  New  Criticism,"    O.  T.  Student, 

Sept.  '83 Paterson,  C.  N. 

*' Syllabus  of  the  Messianic  Prophecies"      .     .     .     Stearns,  O.  S. 
"  Introduction  to  the  Book  of  Isaiah,"  Monthly 

Interpreter,  March,  '86,  and  April,  '86 .     .     .     Rawlinson,  G. 

"Authenticity  of  Isaiah  vindicated" Smith,  R.  P. 

"  The  Revised  Version  of  Isaiah,"  XL.-LXVI. 

Bib.  Sac.  vol.  43 Cobb,  W.  H. 

"The  Prophecy  of  Immanuel,"     Is.  VII.-XII.   . 

Pres.  Rev.,  Oct.  'S6 Forbes,  J. 

"  Immanuel."    The  Expositor,  vol.  10   ...    .    Niger. 


2.   JEREMIAH. 

Chapters,  52. 

§  1.   The   Prophet   and   his    Surroundings.  —  The 

name  of  this  prophet,  "Jehovah's  exalted  one,"  or 
"Jehovah  is  exalted,"  is  somewhat  significant.  His  life 
and  work  belong  to  the  period  of  his  people's  decay  and 
ruin.  The  Jews  of  the  Southern  Kingdom  were  under 
the  ban  of  Jehovah,  doomed  to  exile,  and  he  was  the 
one  raised  up  to  warn  them  and  guide  them  in  their 
perilous  condition.  His  book,  narrative  and  prophecy, 
gives  a  more  vivid  picture  of  the  condition  of  the  people 
at  that  time  than  any  historical  book  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. Hence,  in  the  interpretation  of  the  book,  famil- 
iarity with  his  times  is  a  prime  requisite.  (For  a 
graphic  and  full  narrative  of  this  period,  see  "  History 
of  the  Jewish  Church,"  Stanley,  A.  P.,  vol.  2,  sec.  40.) 

These  items  are  worthy  of  consideration  :  — 

{a)  His  birth-place,  Anathoth  (Ch.  I.  i  and  XXIX. 
27),  a  priestly  town  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  about 
four  miles  northeast  from  Jerusalem. 

{b)  His  priestly  descent,  the  son  of  Hilkiah,  a  priest, 
Ch.  I.  I. 

{c)  His  call  to  be  a  prophet  when  a  young  man,  in 
the  thirteenth  year  of  King  Josiah  (about  628  B.C.),  Ch. 
I.  2,  6,  7. 

{d)  The  tunc  of  his  prophecies,  embracing  at  least 
forty  years.  The  period  included  in  Ch.  I.  3  takes  in 
the  last  eighteen  years  of  the  reign  of  Josiah,  the  three 


52  LATER   PROPHETS. 

months  of  Jehoahaz,  the  eleven  years  of  Jehoiakim,  the 
three  months  of  Jehoiachin,  and  the  eleven  years  of 
Zedekiah. 

(e)  His  prophecies  as  pertaining  to  surrounding  nations 
as  well  as  to  his  own  people,  Ch.  I.  lo.  In  this  respect 
unlike  the  prophets  Elijah  and  Elisha. 

(/)  His  prophecies,  many  of  them,  as  given  under 
the  peculiar  circumstances  of  these  several  reigns,  and 
therefore  to  be  interpreted  from  their  individual,  his- 
torical standpoint. 

{g)  The  finding  of  the  Book  of  the  Law  in  the 
eighteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Josiah,  by  Hilkiah  the 
high  priest  (2  Kings  XXH.),  (621  B.C.),  on  which  the 
reformations  of  Josiah  were  based,  undoubtedly  giving 
him  the  text-book  from  which  he  preached  his  sermons 
to  the  royal  house  and  the  people.  (See  his  use  of 
Deut.  in  passages  collected  by  Keil.) 

{k)  The  last  scriptural  account  of  him  as  found  in 
Ch.  XLIV.  I,  his  last  prophecy  as  recorded,  uttered 
*' between  the  arrival  in  Egypt  (about  585  B.C.)  and  the 
fulfilment  (not  earlier  than  572  B.C.)." 

{i)  His  contemporaries. 

{a)  Prophets :  Ezekiel,  Zephaniah  (.?),  Daniel  (i*) 
(Daniel  I.). 

(yS)  Kings :  Nabopolassar  and  Nebuchadnezzar  of 
Babylonia ;  Pharaoh-Necho  and  Pharaoh-Hophrah  of 
Egypt. 

Note.  —  In  studying  Jeremiah  it  is  well  to  bear  in 
mind  that  the  end  of  the  Southern  Kingdom,  with 
which  his  prophecies  have  so  much  to  do,  came,  accord- 
ing to  the  current  chronology,  450  years  after  the  begin- 
ning of  the  reign  of  David,  387  years  after  the  seces- 


JEREMIAH.  53 

sion,   and    138   after   the   overthrow  of   the   Northern 
Kingdom. 

§  2.  Character  and  Style  of  the  Book.  —  Jeremiah 
may  be  termed  the  unterrified  preacher  of  righteous- 
ness to  a  sin-smitten  people.  He  has  been  likened  to 
Cassandra,  the  Trojan  prophetess  ;  Phocion,  the  rival  of 
Demosthenes ;  and  to  Dante,  protesting  in  vain  against 
the  coming  judgments.  His  style  is  unadorned,  repe- 
titious, showing  familiarity  with  previc  us  prophets,  and 
marked  with  pathos.  As  Umbreit  says,  "  He  is  cer- 
tainly the  greatest  poet  of  desolation  and  sorrow,  be- 
cause he  most  deeply  feels  them." 

§  3.  Contents  of  the  Book.  —  As  the  book  now  is, 
any  effort  to  arrange  its  prophecies  chronologically,  is 
fruitless,  for,  says  Streane  (Camb.  Bib.) :  *'  Prophecies 
uttered  in  the  reign  of  Zedekiah  occur  in  the  midst  of 
those  that  relate  to  Jehoiakim.  The  Jewish  captives 
carried  to  Babylon  by  Nebuchadnezzar  are  addressed 
in  words  of  comfort,  several  chapters  earlier  than  the 
announcement  made  to  Jehoiakim  that  the  event  is 
imminent,  while  the  prophecies  which  chiefly  form  the 
later  portion  of  the  book  and  relate  to  foreign  nations 
(Chs.  XLVI.-LI.)  were  most  or  all  of  them  delivered 
before  the  final  overthrow  of  the  city  and  kingdom.'* 
(Introd.,  p.  80.)  The  order,  whatever  there  is,  must 
therefore  be  the  order  of  subject-matter.  And  the 
internal  evidence  seems  to  be  that  the  prophet  wrote, 
or  caused  to  be  written  by  his  scribe,  groups  of  prophe- 
cies as  he  uttered  them,  or  afterwards,  and  that  they 
were  compiled  possibly  at  least  by  himself,  more  prob- 


54  LATER    PROPHETS. 

ably  by  another.  See  on  this,  Bleek  and  Keil,  for  dif- 
fering opinions.  Home  is  very  full.  As  to  an  analysis, 
see  Introds. 

§  4.  The  Hebrew  Text  and  Septuagint.  —  These 
differ  from  each  other  very  markedly.  In  the  Sept.  as 
we  now  have  it,  the  number  of  trifling  omissions,  with 
those  of  more  importance,  amounts  "  to  about  one-eighth 
part  of  the  text  as  it  stands  in  the  Heb."  (Streane). 
The  number  of  words  omitted  is  about  2700.  See  Keil 
and  Home. 

Note.  —  Ch.  LH.  is  generally  admitted  to  be  an  ap- 
pendix by  another  author. 

LITERATURE. 

♦*  Christology,"  vol.  2,  pp.  361-473,  with 

reference  to  the  Messianic  portions       .     Hengstenberg,  E.  W. 

"  History  of  the  Jews,"  vol.  i,  pp.  439-448, 

for  his  literary  characteristics      .     .     .     Milman,  H.  H. 

**  Lectures  on   Hebrew  Poetry,"  pp.   177, 

178,  for  his  poetic  qualities     ....     Lowth,  R. 

"  Com.  on  Jeremiah  and  Lamentations"      .     Cowle,  H. 

Encyclopedias 

For  an  attempted  explanation  of  the  refer- 
ence to  Jeremiah  in  Matt.  XXVIL  9, 
see  Smith's  Bib.  Diet.,  art.  "  Acel- 
dama," appendix,  and  '*Hermeneutics"  Fairbairn,  P. 

'♦The  Text  of  Jeremiah,"  Princeton  Rev. 

vol.  32 Green,  W.  H. 

♦*  Messianic  Prophecy,"  ch.  8 Briggs,  C.  A. 


3.    EZEKIEL. 

Chapters,  48. 

§  1.  Author.  —  The  name  of  the  prophet  signifies 
"God  strengthens."  For  his  personal  history  we  are 
entirely  dependent  upon  the  book  which  bears  his  name. 
There  is  no  reference  to  him  in  any  of  the  canonical 
books  of  the  Old  Testament.  Hence  the  conjectures 
of  tradition.     From  his  book  we  know  :  — 

(a)  That  he  was  of  priestly  descent,  the  son  of  Buzi, 
of  whom  we  know  no  more,  Ch.  I.  8. 

(b)  That  he  was  a  younger  contemporary  of  Jeremiah, 
prophesying  both  before  and  after  the  destruction  of 
the  Southern  Kingdom. 

{c)  That  he  was  carried  into  captivity  in  Babylonia  by 
Nebuchadnezzar,  with  King  Jehoiakim  (2  Kings  XXIV. 
14  sq.),  599  B.C.  (Bleek),  and  that  his  residence  was  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  Chebar. 

(d)  That  he  received  his  prophetical  call  in  the  fifth 
year  of  *' Jehoiachin's  captivity,"  594  B.C.,  Ch.  I.  2. 

(e)  That  he  was  probably  about  twenty-five  years  of 
age  at  the  time  of  his  exile  (Lange). 

(/)  That  his  entire  active  service  as  a  prophet  belongs 
to  the  exile. 

{g)  That  the  time  of  his  prophesying  was  about  twenty- 
two  years  (Ch.  XXIX.  17),  perhaps  longer. 

{h)  That  he  was  a  married  man,  his  wife  dying  in  the 
ninth  year  of  his  exile  (Ch.  XXIV.  18),  590  B.C.,  and  that 
he  lived  in  a  house  of  his  own,  Chs.  III.  24-VIII.  i. 


{})  VU.\\  ]\c  was  the  pioplu:!  i)t  counsel  and  couiloil 
to  In-,  icllow-cxilcs  Chs.  VHl.  i-XIV.  t,  XX.  i- 
XXXIII.  1,0. 

{j)  Tlmt  ol  hfi  l.r.t  tl.n--  wf  Ktuuv  notlunr,  ('\i cpt 
wimt  is  lirt^litional.  .»u»l.  n»  (lu-  num.  nnu^lnMc. 

AW^»=-E«ckirl  :.»ippl<Mn<nts  )cTCniiah.  .nul  stionM  !>(' 
\C'.u\  i\V\A  c\\\\m\\cA  I  nun  th.il  juMut  t>f  \  irw. 

v^  1!.     <;<>miim>ii<>ss    <»1     his    I*r«»|>li<M'i<vs.  KcmI    MVI  J 

"  Ihr  st;nup  ol  ihc  jMophrt.s  cnnncntlv  luHiihnr  indi- 
vulualily  is  vo  pl,\inlv  iniprcsscd  np«>n  [he  ptoplu\ics  of 
E«ckicl,  in  (luMir.hl  .uul  l.nigUagC,  tli.il  J»nib!-.  .is  In  their 
jfrtuiinrncss  \va\c  n\c{  wUh  n(>  rcsponst'  ;  ;uul  [\\c  ;uitlirn 
licit y  ol  ihc  entire  book  is  nnaninuRisly  acknowledged, 
cwh  by  tho  mo.Ht  recent  cxpositorH  "  (vol.  r,  p,  361). 
VVitl^  him  a^-vicr  l-wald  .-xnd  lUeek.  This  is  snbstnn- 
tiallv  {\\\c  Vhc  ditViinltirs  in  b.rekicM  :\vc  elueflv  those 
o(  exp<>sit»oi) 

§  :i.  S<>1<^.  1-  rekiel  ahoinids  in  allej-^ory  and  sym- 
bols. \\  tt.h  nuich  ditinseness,  he  is  exceedingly  artist  it-. 
On  account  of  Its  difficulties,  "The  Jews  prescribe^l  th.u 
no  one  sluMild  read  it  (the  book^  nntil  thii  ty  years  of  af;e  " 
(Jerome,  pi-cfacc  to  l'>eki(  I  ;  tpiotcd  by  HavetnickV 
Aramaisni.s  Are  frequent,  as  in  jerenu.di  .uul  Paniel. 
His  familiarity  with  the  Tent,  is  .so  app.ncnt  th.u  t he- 
Newer  t'vitiviMn  in.dv(\s  hmi  the  t.UluM-  o[  the  Tiiest- 
Otlex. 

^   4.     <\>n<onii>«>ri»rio.«<.  Tiophcts  :     Jeremiah    and 

Daniel.      K»np,s:    losiah.    |eht>ahaz,  Jehoiakim,  Jehoia- 
i  hin.  Zcilckiah. 


I  n.  fi<*.Ti#Tal  Arial.vNU.  (/rilikr  Jfrr^rmlah,  thft  prr»|>b- 
Ccio«i  of  I'vrkirl  ;irr,  ;irr;in^c(l,  in  the  main,  chrom»l^»^i- 
(;illy,  rIatrH  from  th/:  tirnr;  /,f  hl<;  |iririf<  (;irrir'<I  into 
captivity.  The  f;o<;k  is  divided  into  two  rnain  j/Aftft, 
—  thofte  propheeicn  ante/latinp;  the  rk«»triietjrm  r;f  jcru- 
p.',\\ru\,  ',\u(\  \h(>%i\  «;iit><;rqtjent  to  it,  C^hft.  f-XXfV,  /'inH 
XXV.  XI,Vn/.  n.'ivrrnirk'c*  division  6irt  "  K/ek,/' 
Smith'*  iJih.  I^irt.)  ift  ;i.«;  follows: 

I,    K?:ekierA  call.     r:h<;.  f     Iff   r^ 

7.  Thr  ^^encral  carrying/  out  of  thr.  ( ornrrjjn*.ion  r^», 
III.  \G  V/f. 

3,  The  rejection  <>f   the   pe/iple   for  their   jMolaf ry, 

Chft.  vrif.  Xf 

4.  Tfi^.  ftin^  of  thr.  ;>^y^  rf:l>ukry|  ir>  (\r\;i\\.       ( ,\\'-\.   Xllr^ 

XiX. 

5.  TFie  nature,  of  the  jiKlp;mcnt,  and  the  f^uilt  vrhich 
cauAe^l  it,     Chj».  XX.   XXfff. 

6,  The  meanin^^  of  thr  f)ijni«;hrnerit  now  rommen^;in^, 
Ch.  XX/V. 

7    ^/od'ft  jiKJ^^rnent  or»  seven  heathen  nation*.    Ch», 

XXV.  xxxrr. 

8.  Prophecies  after  the  destruction  of  JeriisaJern,  con- 
cerning the  future  condition  of  I»raeL     Chft.  XXXIII^ 

xxxrx. 

fj    'f  he  ^dorioiis  coir-;(jrfirri;ition.     CMnXL.    Xl.VlU 

5  fi.  Horn*-.  I'<y  •illarltU'-«  Jn  Mi#-.  l:<>ok.  ^/y;  The 
prophet's  syrnf>olical  acts,  —  real  or  in  vision  ?  .S/>mc 
of  thern  would  ^>c  irnj:><'>ftsihle  ;  and  others,  ineffe<';tive, 
because  unknown  to  those  for  whom  they  were  intendc^l, 
Chs.   fV  4  6,  V    3,   etc       See   I^nge,  IntrrxJ, ;   Fair* 


58  LATER   PROPHETS. 

bairn,  P.,  "Prophecy  viewed  in  Respect  to  its  Distinc- 
tive Nature,"  etc. 

{b)  The  method  of  interpreting  Chs.  XL.-XLVIII. 
Four  methods  have  been  employed :  (i)  the  allegorical 
(dangerous) ;  (2)  historical  (destructive) ;  (3)  symbolical 
(to  be  guarded) ;  (4)  typical  (safe). 

{c)  Inquiries  as  to  what  is  the  significance  of  the 
Cherubim,  Gog  and  Magog,  etc.  See  Lange ;  also  all 
literature  connected  with  Babylonian  researches,  which 
throw  light  upon  Ezekiel's  mode  of  teaching.  See 
''Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  the  Old  Testament,"  Schra- 
der,  E.  ;  The  Expositor,  vol.  i,  2d  series,  arts,  by 
Plumptre,  E.  H. ;  "  Egypt  and  Babylon,"  Rawlinson, 
G. 

LITERATURE. 

-Introd.  toEzekiel" ^  Havernick,  H.  A.  C.  H. 

i  Bib.  Sac.  vol.  5. 
**  Messianic  Prophecy,"  ch.  9    ....       Briggs,  C.  A. 


B,    LESSER  PROPHETS, 
I.    HOSEA. 

Chapters,  14.  Order !  Hebrew,  1 ;  Septuagint,  1. 

§  1.  Author.  —  The  Book  of  Hosea  heads  a  group  of 
twelve  books,  termed  Minor  Prophets.  This  epithet  is 
given  to  them,  not  on  account  cf  rank,  but  on  account 
of  the  limited  extent  of  their  productions.  The  whole 
scarcely  equals  in  extent  the  Book  of  Jeremiah  or  of 
Ezekiel.  In  the  catalogues  and  Mss.  they  are  reckoned 
as  one  book,  a  mode  of  grouping,  according  to  Bleek,  as 
early  as  the  second  century  B.C.  (see  Ecclesiasticus 
XLIX.  lo).  They  cover  a  period  in  the  history  of  the 
Jews  from  about  8oo  b.c.  to  450  b.c.  The  order  of  ar- 
rangement as  to  the  first  six  differs  in  the  Septuagint 
from  that  in  the  Hebrew,  the  Hebrew  probably  being 
the  more  authoritative.  Many  deem  the  order  chrono- 
logical, and  place  Hosea  as  the  earliest,  on  this  account, 
but  he  stands  there  probably  because  his  book  is  the 
longest.  Each  of  the  books  must  be  tested  chronologi- 
cally by  historical  evidence. 

As  to  Hosea  personally,  we  know  little  beyond  what 
his  book  reveals.  His  name  is  significant.  It  is  the 
same  as  that  of  the  last  of  the  kings  of  the  Northern 
Kingdom,  and  as  the  original  name  of  the  successor  of 
Moses,  Numb.  XIII.  8,  16;  cf.  Deut.  XXXII.  44.     Its 


6o  LATER   PROPHETS. 

meaning  is  "  Salvation."  He  is  not  spoken  of  in  the  Old 
Testament  except  in  his  own  book.  In  the  superscrip- 
tion (Ch.  I.  i),  he  is  called  the  son  of  Beeri,  of  whom 
we  know  nothing  more.  Hosea  was  probably  a  native 
of  the  Northern  Kingdom.  This  appears  from  the  Ara- 
maic character  of  his  style,  and  from  the  aim  of  his  pre- 
dictions. They  have  to  do  especially  with  the  downfall 
of  the  Northern  Kingdom.  Stanley  calls  him  the  "  Jere- 
miah of  Israel." 

§  2.  Time  of  his  Prophesying.  —  The  superscription 
asserts  that  Hosea  prophesied  "  in  the  days  of  Uzziah» 
Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  kings  of  Judah,  and  in 
the  days  of  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Joash,  king  of  Israel." 
(The  same  heading  as  to  the  kings  of  Judah  is  found  in 
Isaiah  I.  i.)  The  period  from  Uzziah's  death  to  the 
first  year  of  Hezekiah  would  be  thirty-two  years.  Jero- 
boam II.  died  a  long  time  before  Uzziah ;  how  long  is 
uncertain,  probably,  says  Bleek,  twenty-six  years.  So 
that  allowing  even  that  Hosea  began  his  prophesying 
but  a  short  time  before  the  death  of  Jeroboam  II.,  and 
extended  it  to  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah, 
his  prophetic  ministry  must  have  covered  a  period  of  at 
least  fifty  years.  Some  say  fifty-six  years,  others  fifty- 
nine,  Pusey  seventy.  This  is  a  very  long  ministry,  and 
there  is  also  a  mystery  in  the  mention  seriatim  of  the 
kings  of  Judah,  and  the  mention  of  but  one  of  the  kings 
of  Israel,  since  his  mission  was  emphatically  to  Israel. 
See  Camb.  Bible,  Bleek,  Keil. 

§  3.  General  Analysis.  —  A  minute  analysis  is  an 
impossibility.  The  style  of  Hosea  is  so  passionate,  his 
transitions  so  abrupt,  and  his  language  often  so  enig- 


HOSEA.  6l 

matical,  that  it  is  more  difficult  to  trace  the  exact  thread 
of  his  thought  than  in  any  of  the  prophets.  Pusey  says, 
"  Each  verse  forms  a  whole  in  itself,  like  one  heavy 
toll  in  a  funeral  knell."  Unlike  Amos,  his  senior,  he 
has  no  symmetrical  divisions.  But  the  book  may  be 
divided  into  two  books  :  First,  prophecies  on  the  apos- 
tasy of  Israel  under  the  symbol  of  the  marriage  rela- 
tion, Chs.  I. -III.  Secondly,  a  series  of  prophecies 
pertaining  in  the  main  to  the  downfall  of  Israel,  Chs. 
IV.-XIV. 

§  4.   Methods  of  Interpreting. —  Chs.  I. -III. 

{a)  The  Literal.  That  under  divine  command  the 
prophet  actually  married  a  profligate  woman.  This  is 
the  view  of  the  Mediaeval  and  Reformation  commen- 
tators.    Endorsed  by  Pusey.     Hard  to  accept. 

{b)  The  Modified  Literal  View.  That  the  prophet 
married  a  woman  whose  tendencies  were  to  profligacy 
and  who  proved  unfaithful.    Ewald,  Wellhausen,  Cheyne. 

{c)  The  Visionary  Theory.  The  prophet  saw  in  vision 
that  which  he  objectively  describes.  Christology,  vol. 
I,  p.  177,  Hengstenberg,  E.  W. ;  Minor  Prophets,  pp. 
3-4  and  413-415,  Cowles,  H. 

{d)  The  Typical  or  Parabolic  Theory.  The  prophet 
states  in  parabolic  form  the  relation  of  Jehovah  to  Israel 
as  a  husband  to  an  unfaithful  wife.  Bleek,  §  281  ; 
*' Prophecy  viewed  in  respect  to  its  Distinctive  Nature," 
etc.,  Fairbairn,  P. ;  Hermeneutics,  Fairbairn,  P. ;  O.  T. 
Student,  Jan.,  '85,  Elliott,  C. 

Messianic  Passages.  —  Hosea  III.  57;  XL  i;  cf. 
Matt.  II.  14,  15.  N.  T.  quotation  as  to  the  conversion 
of  the  heathen,  Ch.  I.  10;  cf.  Ch.  II.  23  and  Rom.  IX. 
25  and  I  Pet.  II.  10. 


2.   JOEL. 

Chapters  !  Eng.,  3 ;  Heb.,  4.  Order  s  Heb.,  2  i  Sept.,  4. 

§  1.  Author.  —  His  name  meaning  "Jehovah  is  God," 
a  common  name,  is  used  nowhere  else  for  the  prophet, 
and  is  expressive  of  his  mission.  He  belonged  prob- 
ably to  the  Southern  Kingdom  and  at  the  time  of  his 
prophecies  resided  in  Jerusalem.  Chs.  I.  9;  I.  14;  H. 
I,  etc. 

§  2.  Date.  —  Critics  vary  from  the  tenth  century  B.C. 
to  the  second  b.c.  There  is  little  doubt,  however,  that 
Joel  was  the  earliest  or  nearly  the  earliest  of  the 
prophets  whose  writings  have  been  transmitted  to  us. 
The  probability  is  that  he  wrote  in  the  middle  part  of 
the  reign  of  Uzziah,  about  800  e.g.  Keil  places  him  in 
the  reign  of  Joash,  between  '^JJ  and  847  e.g.  Wiinsche, 
from  a  careful  array  of  historical  facts,  deems  him  the 
earliest  of  the  Minor  Prophets,  and  assigns  as  the  date, 
earliest  890  e.g.,  latest  840  e.g.,  or  as  a  medium  860- 
850  E.G.  See  Lange.  The  Newer  Criticism,  on  account 
of  the  strong  evidence  in  the  book  that  the  ritual  was 
in  full  force  when  he  spoke  and  wrote,  place  him  after 
the  exile ;  but,  as  Professor  Briggs  says,  "  His  intense 
yet  classic  style,  the  reference  to  the  Philistines  and 
Arabians  as  the  chief  enemies,  the  general  and  indefi- 
nite representation  of  the  Messianic  idea,  as  well  as  his 
entire  theological  attitude,  point  to  the  earlier  times." 
**  Messianic  Prophecy,"  p.  153. 


JOEL.  63 

For  the  time  of  Uzziah,  see  Bleek.  For  that  of  Joash, 
see  Keil. 

§  3.  Methods  of  Interpretation.  —  These  are  two, 
the  literal  and  the  symbolical.  The  one  considers  the 
devastation  of  the  locusts  to  be  an  actual  fact ;  the 
other,  as  a  symbol  of  invading  foes.  And  with  this 
query,  another  question  has  been  mooted,  whether  the 
prophet  speaks  of  a  present  calamity  or  a  future  one. 
The  symbolical  method  has  much  in  its  favor ;  see  for 
summary,  O.  T.  Student,  Feb.  '85,  Elliott  (C.)  ;  and  is 
the  view  maintained  by  Pusey,  Keil,  and  others.  It 
was  the  view  of  the  ancient  Jews  and  the  Christian 
Fathers.  If  the  literal  view  is  accepted,  it  must  refer 
to  the  present  or  the  past.  The  symbolical  involves 
the  future  and  places  Joel  as  a  sort  of  general  Messianic 
teacher  to  the  other  prophets.  As  Professor  Elliott 
says,  in  the  article  referred  to,  "We  see  the  fundamental 
significance  of  the  prophecies  of  Joel  {a)  in  his  clear 
and  precise  prediction  of  the  coming  of  the  day  of  the 
Lord.     Chs.  I.  15;  II.  i,  2,  12. 

{b)  In  the  promises  of  Israel's  future.  Chs.  II.  18-27; 
III.  16-21. 

(c)  In  the  prediction  of  the  effusion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.     Ch.  II.  28-29. 

§  4.   Analysis.  —  According  to  the  literal  view  — 

1.  The  infliction  of  the  plague  and  its  removal.  Chs. 
I.-II.  27. 

2.  The  refreshing  rain,  typifying  the  Holy  Spirit, 
restoring  the  barrenness  of  the  land.     Ch.  II.  28-32. 

3.  The  day  of  judgment,  typified  by  the  destruction 


64  LATER   PROPHETS. 

of  the  locusts,  and  the  reign  of  righteousness  which 
followed  it.     Chs.  III.,  IV. 

According  to  the  symbolical  view  — 

1.  Judgments  threatened,  with  a  call  to  repentance. 
Chs.  I.-II.  27. 

2.  Salvation   promised  to  the  penitent,  with  richer 
blessings  than  those  they  had  lost.     Ch.  II.  18-29. 

3.  The  contrast  between  Jehovah's  dealings  with  his 
own  people  and  other  nations.     Chs.  II.  30-IV. 

§  5.    Messianic  Passage.  —  Ch.  IIL;  cf.  Acts  11.  and 

Rom.  X.  12,  13. 

§  6.   Style.  —  Classical,  pure. 

LITERATURE. 
Books  referred  to  on  Amos :  — 

O.  T.  Student,  Dec.  '88,  and  Jan.  '84 Curtis,  E.  L. 

O.  T.  Student,  Feb.  '85 Elliott,  C. 

Monthly  Interpreter,  Sept.  '86,  and  Feb.  '86    .    .    Redford,  R.  A. 


3.  AMOS. 

Chapters,  9r  Order :  Heb.,  3 )  Sept.,  2. 

§  1.   Author  and  Date.  —  Of  Amos  we  know  — 

{a)  His    name,    signifying    ''Burden"    or    "Burden- 
some"; an  index  of  his  work  as  a  prophet  of  woe  to 
the  Northern  Kingdom  and  the  surrounding  nations. 
■    {b)  His  probable  home  in  the  Southern  Kingdom.   Ch. 
Vn.  lo  sq. 

{c)  His  residence  at  the  time  he  was  called  to  proph- 
esy, Tekoa,  a  town  in  the  tribe  of  Judah  (2  Chron.  XL 
6),  distant  from  Bethel  twenty-four  miles  (south  to 
north).     See  Smith's  Bib.  Diet.  art.  *' Tekoa." 

{d)  His  occupation,  a  herdman  and  a  gatherer  of 
sycamore  fruit ;  i.e.  one  of  low  social  position.  Ch. 
VH.  14. 

{e)  And  according  to  tradition,  on  which  little  reliance 
can  be  placed,  that  he  died  a  martyr's  death,  "Minor 
Prophets,"  Pusey,  p.   150. 

As  to  the  date  of  his  prophecies,  according  to  the 
superscription  (Ch.  I.  i),  they  fall  into  the  period  be- 
tween 810  and  783  B.C.  He  prophesied  while  Jeroboam 
n.  of  Israel  and  Uzziah  of  Judah  were  contemporaries ; 
i.e.  during  the  last  twenty-seven  years  of  Jeroboam's 
reign,  2  Kings  XIV.  2,  17,  23  ;  cf.  2  Kings  XV.  i.  If 
we  knew  the  time  of  the  earthquake  referred  to  in  Ch. 
I.  I,  and  also  by  Zechariah  in  Ch.  XIV.  5,  we  could 
determine  the  time  more  precisely.  The  Northern 
Kingdom  at  the  time  of  his  prophesying  was  at  the 


66  LATER   PROPHETS. 

zenith  of  its  prosperity  in  extent  of  domain  and  in  com- 
mercial thrift,  and  his  woes  upon  it  indicate  gross  cor- 
ruption on  the  part  of  the  people,  and  boldness  on  his 
part  in  denouncing  it. 

§  2.  Style.  —  Rugged,  clear,  crisp,  and  full  of  im- 
agery suggested  by  his  shepherd  life. 

§  3.    Messianic  Passage.  —  Ch.  IX.  8-12. 

§  4.  Analysis.  —  The  book  is  probably  a  compilation 
of  the  prophet's  oral  discourses  at  Bethel.  It  is  divided 
into  three  parts  :  — 

1.  Introduction.     Chs.  I.-II. 

2.  Prophetic  addresses.     Chs.  III.-VI. 

3.  Visions  with  brief  explanations.     Chs.  VII.-IX. 

LITERATURE. 

Intros.,  Corns.,  Imperial  Diet.,  Lange  (Chambers), 

Bible  Com.,  Minor  Prophets    .     .     .     .     .     .  Cowles,  H. 

"Prophets  and  Prophecy  in  Israel" Kuenen,  A. 

"Prophets  of  Israel" Smith,  W.  R. 

On  passages  implying  knowledge  of  the  Pent.,  see 

"A  Study  of  the  Pent.,"  pp.  1 21-126    .     .     .  Stebbins,  R.  P. 

O.  T.  Student,  Sept.  '85 ElHott,  C. 

"  Messianic  Prophecy " Briggs,  C.  A. 


4.   OBADIAH. 

Chapter,  1.  Order;  Heb.,  4j  Sept.,  5. 

This  little  book  recalls  the  old  feud  between  Jacob 
and  Esau,  and  identifies  itself  with  the  history  of  the 
two  nationalities,  so  marked  throughout  the  O.  T.  as  to 
render  Edom  and  Jacob  world-types  of  the  foes  and 
friends  of  God.  It  is  a  choice  book  to  the  modern 
orthodox  Jew.  In  it  he  reads  the  final  supremacy  of 
his  own  people.  Taught  by  his  Rabbins  to  interpret 
Edomites  as  Christians,  and  Edom  as  Rome,  the  glow- 
ing imagery  of  the  last  part  of  the  book,  assures  him 
that  the  final  triumph  of  Judaism  is  certain. 

§  1.  Author  and  Date.  —  All  we  know  of  the  author 
is  contained  in  the  first  two  words  of  the  book ;  "  The 
vision  of  Obadiah."  The  name  signifies  "The  Servant 
of  Jehovah,"  a  very  common  one  in  the  O.  T. 

The  date  is  quite  uncertain.  The  key  to  the  date  is 
found  in  the  interpretation  of  vss.  10-14.  What  plun- 
dering and  sacking  of  Jerusalem  is  here  referred  to.^ 
If  to  the  captivity  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  he  would  have 
written  it  somewhat  later  than  588  B.C.  ;  if  to  the 
earlier  captivity  of  Nebuchadnezzar  during  the  reign  of 
Jehoiakim,  between  606  and  588  B.C.  But  the  passage 
carefully  examined  does  not  necessarily  refer  to  the 
final  overthrow  of  Jerusalem  ;  its  language  implies  no 
more  than  a  capture  in  which  Jerusalem  was  put  under 
tribute,  and  some  of  its  people  sold  as  slaves.     Of  the 


6S  LATER    PROPHETS. 

six  ^  plunderings  of  Jerusalem  there  is  much  to  favor 
that  of  the  Philistines  and  Arabians,  in  the  reign  of 
Jehoram  (2  Chron.  XXI.  16-17),  which  accords  with 
the  view  of  Keil,  Delitzsch,  and  Kleinert.  This  would 
place  the  prophecy  of  Obadiah  between  889-884  B.C. 
Some  place  much  stress  for  the  date  of  the  book  upon 
its  location  after  the  Book  of  Amos.  But  though  the 
compiler  may  have  had  some  chronological  purpose  in 
mind,  each  book  must  be  tested  by  itself.  The  first 
nine  verses  resemble  Jeremiah  XLIX.  7  sq.,  and  many 
think  that  Obadiah  was  a  copyist  of  Jeremiah,  and 
therefore  his  contemporary ;  but  the  well-known  habit 
of  Jeremiah  in  his  use  of  earlier  writers,  and  a  careful 
comparison  of  the  two  passages  favor  Obadiah  as  the 
original.     See  O.  T.  Student,  May,  1884. 

§  2.  Scope  of  the  Book.  —  It  is  a  prophecy  against 
the  Edomites  for  their  unnatural  enmity  and  cruel  treat- 
ment of  the  Southern  Kingdom  in  the  day  of  its  adver- 
sity. Those  who  should  have  been  friends  are  the 
meanest  of  foes ;  and  as  a  result  their  doom  is  sounded. 

1  Attacks  on  Jerusalem  :  — 

1.  By  Shishak,  in  fifth  year  of  Rehoboam.  I  Kings  XIV.  25,  26;  2 
Chron.  XII.  2  sq. 

2.  By  Philistines  and  Arabians,  in  the  reign  of  Jehoram.  2  Chron. 
XXII.  1 6,  17. 

3.  By  Joash  of  Israel,  in  the  reign  of  Amaziah.  2  Kings  XIV.  13,  14; 
2  Chron.  XXV.  23,  24. 

4.  By  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  reign  of  Jehoiakim.  2  Kings  XXIV.  i  sqq. ; 
2  Chron.  XXXVI.  6,  7. 

5.  By  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  reign  of  Jehoiachin.  2  Kings  XXIV.  10 
sqq.;   2  Chron.  XXXVI.  10. 

6.  By  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  reign  of  Zedekiah.  2  Kings  XXV.  sqq. ;  2 
Chron.  XXXVI.  17,  19. 


OBADIAH.  69 

§  3.  Fulfilment.  —  For  this,  see  art.  "  Obadiah," 
Smith's  Bib.  Diet.  The  last  verses  of  the  prophecy 
seem  to  demand  both  a  real  and  a  typical  fulfilment. 

Note.  —  In  connection  with  this  prophecy,  cf.  Ezekiel. 
Chs.  XXV.  and  XXXV. ;  Lam.  IV.  21  ;  Ps.  CXXXVII. 

LITERATURE. 

Lange,  Introduction Kleinert,  P. 

"  Obadiah  " Smith's  Bib.  Diet. 

"  Minor  Prophets " Pusey. 

Edom Encyclopedias. 

O.  T.  Student,  May,  1884 Elliott,  C. 


5.   JONAH. 

Chapters,  4.  Order:  Heb.,  5)  Sept.,  6. 

§  1.  The  Prophet.  —  Of  Jonah  himself,  we  know 
nothing  beyond  what  is  recorded  in  the  book  bearing 
his  name,  Ch.  I.  i,  and  in  2  Kings  XIV.  25.  From 
these  sources  we  learn  — 

{a)  That  he  was  a  prophet  of  the  Northern  Kingdom 
during  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  IL,  825-784  B.C. 

(b)  That  his  birth-place  was  Gath-hepher,  a  town  west 
of  the  Jordan,  near  Nazareth. 

{c)  That  his  prophetical  office  connects  itself  very 
closely  with  the  early  part  of  Jeroboam's  reign.  If  so, 
he  would  be  a  contemporary  with  Hosea  and  Amos. 
His  name  means  "A  Dove,"  perhaps  a  symbol  of 
timidity,  shrinking  from  his  commission. 

§  2.  Historical  Character  of  the  Book.  —  The  book, 
instead  of  being  a  prophecy  like  the  other  books  of 
this  group,  is  the  story  of  "The  Special  Mission  of  a 
Prophet,"  and  it  contains  so  much  of  the  supernatural, 
that  it  has  been  the  butt  of  ridicule  from  the  time  of 
Julian  (a.d.  360)  until  the  present  day.  For  an  elaborate 
discussion  of  the  claims  of  the  book  as  veritable  history, 
see  O.  T.  Student,  Oct.,  '83;  Nov.,  '83;  March,  '84, 
Harper,  W.  R. 

§  3.  Author  of  the  Book  and  Date.  — Jewish  tradi- 
tion ascribes  its  authorship  to  the  prophet  himself,  and 
there  are  more  difficulties  in  finding  some  other  author 


JONAH.  71 

than  in  admitting  the  truthfulness  of  the  tradition.  The 
chief  objections  are  pecuUarities  of  style  (Aramaisms), 
and  reminiscences  of  Psalms  in  Ch.  II.,  which  are 
deemed  of  late  date.  For  such  reasons  and  those  of  a 
subjective  character,  i.e.  the  miraculous  element  and 
the  legendary  element,  the  author  is  supposed  to  be 
unknown,  and  his  time,  that  of  Josiah,  or  the  Assyrian 
exile,  or  the  Babylonian  exile,  or  the  time  of  the  Macca- 
bees, etc.  See,  for  the  traditional  .view,  "  Minor  Proph- 
ets," Pusey,  E.  B.     For  another  view,  Lange,  Kleinert,  P. 

§  4.  Analysis.  —  As  substantially  given  by  Perowne, 
T.  T.,  in  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools. 

"  I.  Jonah's  disobedience  and  punishment.     Ch.  I. 
"2.  Jonah's  prayer  and  deliverance.     Ch.  II. 
"  3.  Jonah's  preaching  and  its  result.     Ch.  III. 
"4.  Jonah's  displeasure  and  its  rebuke.     Ch.  IV." 

§  5.  Design  of  the  Book.  —  Some  find  in  it  a  whole 
system  of  theology.  Others  treat  it  as  myth,  legend, 
parable,  and  allegory,  with  sundry  purposes.  If  its 
canonicity  is  accepted,  which  there  is  no  reason  to 
doubt,  its  purpose  must  ally  itself  with  the  general  pur- 
pose of  the  other  prophetical  books.  That  main  purpose 
is  to  unfold  the  dealings  of  God  with  his  own  people  as 
surrounded  with  the  hostile,  idolatrous  nations.  Jonah's 
mission  would,  therefore,  have  to  do  in  the  main  with 
the  well-being  of  his  own  nation,  the  real  kingdom  of 
God.  The  lessons  of  this  book  may  be,  I  think,  summed 
up  thus  :  — 

{a)  The  prophets  had  affirmed  that  the  enemies  of 
Israel  were  to  be  overthrown. 


72  LATER    PROPHETS. 

{b)  In  times  of  degeneracy  this  thought  begat  Phari- 
seeism,  and  the  prophets  threatened  national  destruc- 
tion. 

{c)  But  Nineveh,  though  an  enemy  and  idolatrous, 
should  be  treated  on  the  broad  principles  of  justice  and 
mercy, — justice  if  non-repentant,  mercy  if  repentant. 

{d)  Israel  would  thus  be  condemned  for  her  own  nar. 
rowness,  and  catch  a  bird's-eye  view  of  her  own  mis- 
sion. She  would  be  taught  catholicity,  see  her  own 
call  to  repentance,  and  enlarge  her  vision  as  to  her 
missionary  work. 

{e)  The  book  thus  becomes  a  picture  of  two  texts,  — 
Rom.  IX. ;  Acts  X.  34-43. 

§  6.  Methods  of  Interpretation.  —  Those  who  admit 
the  historical  character  of  the  book  may  be  classified 
thus  :  — 

{a)  The  Historical,  with  a  didactic  moral  against  the 
bigotry  of  the  Jews,  —  Bleek  and  others. 

{p)  The  Symbolical^  enunciating  in  each  part  some 
scriptural  doctrine,  —  Lange,  Kleinert,  P. 

{c)  The  Historical-Typical,  finding  in  it  Jonah  as  the 
type  of  Christ,  —  Keil,  C.  F. ;  Cambridge,  Perowne,  T.  T. 
This  view  depends  largely  on  the  use  made  of  it  in 
Matt.  XII.  40,  41  ;  cf.  John  VII.  23,  24,  and  Acts  XXVI. 
23.     See  also  Luke  XL  29-32,  and  Matt.  XVI.  4. 

Note.  —  As  a  type  of  Christ  the  analogy  requires  no 
more  than  the  incident  in  Jonah's  history  which  illus- 
trates the  resurrection  of  Christ.  Types  should  always 
be  limited  to  the  specific  idea  or  fact  in  a  person  or 
event  for  which  they  are  used. 


JONAH.  73 


LITERATURE. 

"  Minor  Prophets  " Pusey,  E.  B. 

♦' On  Prophecy" Davison,  A. 

"Jonah  the  Prophet,"  Bib.  Sac.  vol.  lo    .     .     .  Stowe,  C.  E. 

"Jonah's  Gourd,"  Bib.  Sac.  vol.  12      ....  Stowe,  C.  E. 

Bible  Studies,  vol.  2 Kalisch,  M.  M. 

Biblical  Essays Wright,  C.  H.  H. 

"  Minor  Prophets  " Henderson,  E. 

"Jonah:  his  Life,  Character,  and  Mission,"  etc.  Fairbairn,  P. 


6.   MICAH. 

Chapters,  7.  Order  j  Heb.,  6;  Sept.,  3. 

§  1.  Author.  —  Our  knowledge  of  him,  as  of  so  many 
of  the  other  prophets,  is  limited  to  his  own  work.  Of 
him  we  know,  — 

(a)  The  meaning  of  his  name,  "Who  is  like  Jehovah." 
A  use  of  it  perhaps  in  Ch.  VII.  i8. 

(b)  His  birth-place,  "the  Morashtite  "  ;  i.e.  a  native  of 
Moresheth,  a  small  town  "in  the  maritime  plain  near 
Gath,"  Ch.  I.  14.  Bib.  Res.  in  Pal.  vol.  2,  p.  423.  He 
is  thus  distinguished  from  the  noted  Micaiah  of  Ahab's 
reign,  i  Kings  XXII. 

{c)  That  according  to  the  heading  he  prophesied  in 
the  reigns  of  Jotham,  758-742  B.C.,  Ahaz,  742-727  b.c, 
and  Hezekiah,  727-698  B.C.  Lange,  Kleinert,  P.  These 
headings  are  not  ultimate  authority,  and  must  be  scruti- 
nized as  much  as  a  heading  to  a  psalm.  If  Micah's 
prophecies  are  arranged  chronologically,  there  is  a  grave 
difficulty  in  adjusting  a  quotation  from  him,  Ch.  HI.  12, 
in  Jer.  XXVI.  18,  inasmuch  as  it  implies  that  but  few 
if  any  of  the  previous  prophecies  were  uttered  in  the 
days  of  Jotham  and  Ahaz,  while  it  leaves  the  remaining 
chapters  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah  also.  The  arrange- 
ment, therefore,  probably  is  not  chronological ;  but  an 
arrangement  of  thought  by  the  prophet  or  a  compiler, 
giving  notes  of  Micah's  numerous  prophecies.  See 
Cambridge,  Cheyne,  T.   K.  ;  Lange,  Kleinert,   P. 

{d)  That  his  contemporaries  were  Hosea  and  Amos, 


MICAH. 


75 


during  part  of  their  ministry  in  Israel,  and  Isaiah  the 
prophet  of  Judah.  With  Isaiah  there  are  many  resem- 
blances of  thought  and  style.     See  Coms.  for  passages. 

{e)  That  his  prophecies  have  to  do  with  the  overthrow 
of  Samaria  and  Jerusalem. 

(/)  That  his  prophecies  relate  to  the  invasions  of 
Shalmanezer  (Ch.  I.  6,  7),  (Sargon .?),  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  (Chs.  III.  12  and  VII.  13),  the  Captivity  in 
Babylon  (Ch.  IV.  10),  the  establishment  of  a  theocracy 
in  Jerusalem,  and  a  ruler  who  should  spring  out  of 
Bethlehem,  Chs.  IV.  1-8;  VII.  11  and  14-17.  Micah's 
"last  words,"  says  Stanley,  "are  those  which  centuries 
afterwards  were  caught  up  by  the  aged  priest,  whose 
song  unites  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  together." 
Micah  VII.  18-20 ;  cf.  Luke  I.  72,  73.  "  History  of  the 
Jewish  Church,"  vol.  2,  pp.  492-494. 

§  2.  Style.  —  Simple,  vivid,  energetic,  yet  often  so 
concise  as  to  be  obscure.  See  "  Minor  Prophets,"  Pusey, 
E.  B. 

§  3.  General  Analysis.  —  As  the  text  stands,  there 
is  a  natural  division  of  the  book  into  three  parts,  each 
beginning  with  the  same  word,  announcing  judgments, 
and  closing  with  a  promise  of  salvation  to  the  people  of 
God.  These  divisions  are  Chs.  I.,  II.,  III.-V.,  and  VI.- 
VII.     See  Encyc.  Brit.,  Camb.  Bib.,  Smith's.  Bib.  Diet. 

§  4.  Messianic  Passages.  —  Micah  V.  2-4 ;  cf .  Matt. 
II.  6.     Also  Micah  IV.  1-8. 


7-    NAHUM. 

Ghaptersi  3. 

§  1.  Author  and  Date.  —  Of  the  author  we  know 
nothing  beside  the  superscription  which  gives  his  name 
and  birth-place,  Ch.  I.  i.  His  name  in  Hebrew  signi- 
fies "consolation";  fitting  word  for  his  work.  His 
birth-place  is  said  to  be  Elkosh,  "an  Elkoshite,"  being 
a  Gentile  name  indicative  of  place  of  birth.  This 
Elkosh  has  been  supposed  to  be  a  village  of  Galilee, 
but  some  have  preferred  an  Alkosh  or  Elkosh,  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  Tigris,  near  Mosul  and  the  ancient 
Nineveh,  where  is  to  be  found  his  pretended  grave. 
Layard  thinks  that  grave  is  of  Christian  origin.  "  Nine- 
veh and  its  Remains,"  vol.  i,  pp.  197  sq.  If  the  latter 
were  his  birth-place,  he  would  belong  to  the  Israelitish 
exiles  of  Assyria,  and  his  prophecies  would  have  ema- 
nated near  the  scene  of  ruin  he  portrays.  But  the 
grounds  for  such  a  claim  are  insufficient. 

{a)  It  is  claimed  that  the  book  contains  Assyrian 
words,  but  that  might  arise  from  his  familiarity  with 
them  as  a  Judean  ;  words  of  common  use. 

{b)  That  the  description  of  Nineveh  is  too  vivid  for  a 
foreigner.  Granting  the  vividness,  a  city  so  noted 
might  be  well  known  to  a  Palestinian. 

{c)  That  the  main  purpose  of  the  prophet  was  to  pre- 
dict the  ruin  of  Nineveh,  and  therefore  it  would  nat- 
urally be  written  or  given  in  its  neighborhood.  Its 
purpose  is  for  the  consolation  of  his  own  people  by  the 
overthrow  of  their  enemies. 


NAHUM.  77 

On  the  other  hand  in  favor  of  Judea :  — 

{a)  His  famiUarity  with  Palestine  as  indicated  in  Ch. 

I.  4,  5- 

{b)  His  acquaintance  with  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah, 
who  was  probably  his  contemporary.     See  Corns. 

{c)  His  purpose  to  comfort  his  people,  the  Southern 
Kingdom,  the  Northern  being  already  destroyed,  seems 
to  call  for  his  work  among  his  own  people. 

As  to  the  date  of  the  composition  of  the  book,  critics 
differ,  but  all  of  them  place  it  later  than  the  overthrow 
of  the  Northern  Kingdom.  Some  —  Jerome,  Hender- 
son, E. — place  it  in  the  latter  half  of  Hezekiah's  reign, 
before  the  invasion  of  Sennacherib,  712-700  b.c.  ;  others, 
—  Keil,  Kuenen,  Bleek,  —  after  that  invasion,  701- 
697  B.C. ;  others,  —  Kleinert,  Schrader,  — in  the  time  of 
Manasseh,  about  660  B.C.;  others,  —  Hitzig,  Ewald, — 
about  636  B.C.  in  the  reign  of  Josiah.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  all  these  critics  place  the  book  prior  to  the  event 
foretold.  Nineveh  fell  in  606  B.C.  See  Layard,  vol.  2, 
p.  129.  Lange,  Kleinert,  P.,  pp.  11,  12.  Others  put  the 
date  626  B.C. 

§  2.  General  Analysis.  —  The  book  may  be  divided 
by  chapters. 

I.  Nineveh  doomed,  because  the  long-suffering  God 
can  bear  its  oppression  no  longer.     Ch.  I. 

II.  Nineveh  in  ruins  and  God's  people  exultant. 
Ch.  II. 

III.  Nineveh  suffers  what  she  deserves,  and  her 
resistance  is  hopeless.  Illustrated  by  the  overthrow  of 
Thebes.     Ch.  HI. 

See  a  minute  analysis,  Bib.  Sac.  vol.  5,  Edwards, 
B.  B. 


yS  LATER    PROPHETS. 

§  3.  Style.  —  Professor  Edwards  says,  "  In  grandeur 
of  style,  in  condensed  energy,  in  elevation  of  sentiment 
and  rapid  transitions,  and  in  a  certain  completeness  of 
representation,  Nahum  stands,  if  not  the  very  first,  yet 
near  the  very  first  of  the  Hebrew  prophets." 

JVofe.  —  Nahum  should  be  read  in  connection  with 
Jonah,  the  latter  illustrating  the  compassion  of  God 
to  outside  nations  who  are  repentant;  the  former,  the 
righteousness  of  God  executed  upon  those  unrepent- 
ant.    There  is  nothing  Messianic  in  this  book. 

LITERATURE. 
Bib.  Sac.  vol.  5,  art.  by Edwards,  B.  B. 

A  fine  specimen  of  careful  exegesis. 

The  Heb.  Student,  Oct.  ""Sa 

Intro,  to  Lange Kleinert,  Paul. 

"  Nineveh  and  its  Remains  " Layard,  A.  H. 

"The  Five  Great  Monarchies  of  the  Ancient 

Eastern  World,"  vol.  i Rawlinson,  G. 

Art.  "Nineveh,"  Smith's.  Diet.  Bib. ;  also  Her- 

zog's  Encyc.  and  Encyc.  Brit. 
"  Palaces  of  Nineveh  and  Persepolis  Restored"  .     Ferguson,  James. 
"  Nineveh  and  the  Bible,"  Brit.  Quar.  vol.  9. 
**Nahum's  Prophecy,"  Princeton  Rev.  vol.  27    .     Green,  W.  H. 

**  Cuneiform  Inscriptions" Schrader,  E. 

'*  Assyrian  Discoveries" Smith,  Geo. 


8.    HABAKKUK. 

Chapters,  3. 

§  1.  Author.  —  His  name  signifies  "embracing,"  and 
Luther  paraphrased  it,  as  "taking  to  one's  heart,"  indic- 
ative of  his  identification  with  his  people  and  his  patriotic 
zeal  for  them.  His  name  does  not  elsewhere  occur  in 
the  O.  T.  He  is  called  a  prophet  (Chs.  I.  i  and  HI.  i), 
but  nothing  else  is  affirmed  concerning  him  or  of  the 
age  in  which  he  lived.  There  is  a  legend  that  he  was 
miraculously  transported  to  Babylon  as  a  comforter  to 
Daniel  when  in  the  lions'  dens,  found  in  the  apocryphal 
book,  "Bel  and  the  Dragon,"  in  which  some  have 
found  a  clue  to  the  date  of  his  prophecy,  and  to  his 
descent  from  the  house  of  Levi,  but  it  is  too  apocryphal 
to  be  of  much  worth. 

§  2.  Date.  —  Critics  differ  as  to  the  time  of  Habak- 
kuk's  prophecy,  but  most  of  them  divide  between  a 
preference  for  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim,  612-598  B.C., 
and  the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Josiah,  about  630  b.c. 
For  the  former  view,  see  Lange,  Kleinert ;  for  the  lat- 
ter view,  see  Keil's  Intro.  The  difficulty  consists  in 
fixing,  from  internal  evidence,  the  condition  of  the  people 
with  reference  to  the  Chaldean  invasion  of  Judah  by 
Nebuchadnezzar.  The  earlier  date  gives  a  longer  time 
for  the  action  of  the  prophecy.  The  later  date  would 
place  it  just  previous  to  the  invasion,  or  during  the 
invasion. 


So  LATER    PROPHETS. 

§  3.  Unity  of  the  Book.  —  Some  desire  to  separate 
the  third  chapter  from  the  other  two  as  a  distinct 
prophecy,  but  the  majority  of  the  best  critics  maintain 
the  completeness  of  the  work  in  its  present  form. 

§  4.  Style.  —  All  Hebrew  scholars  consider  the  book, 
especially  the  last  chapter,  as  among  the  noblest  efforts 
of  Hebrew  genius.  Habakkuk's  style  is  in  the  main 
pure,  his  illustrations  fresh,  his  conceptions  original. 
Ewald  says  of  him,  "  He  is  the  last  prophet  belonging 
to  the  age  preceding  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  who 
is  master  of  a  beautiful  style,  of  powerful  description, 
and  an  artistic  power  that  enlivens  and  orders  every- 
thing with  charming  effect."  Ewald's  "Prophets,"  vol. 
3,  P-  32. 

§  5.  Design  of  the  Book.  —  The  design  of  this 
prophecy  is  to  portray  the  sovereignty  of  God  as  chas- 
tening his  people  for  their  sins,  and  also  visiting  with 
deserved  punishment  those  who  as  godless  agents  seek 
to  destroy  them.  Wickedness  shall  not  go  unpunished, 
but  woe  unto  those  who  take  the  rod  of  God  into  their 
own  hands.  The  consoling  thought  as  illustrated  in 
the  prophet's  experience  is,  that  a  good  man  though 
deprived  of  all  human  support,  and  stripped  of  his 
earthly  possessions,  may  still  be  happy  in  God  alone,  as 
the  bestower  of  higher  spiritual  blessings. 

§6.  General  Analysis. —  i.  The  wickedness  of  God's 
people  so  great  as  to  merit  punishment.     Ch.  I.  1-4. 

2.  This  punishment  shall  be  inflicted  by  the  Chal- 
deans.    Ch.  I.  5-12. 

3.  For  this  inflicting  of  punishment  the  Chaldeans 


HABAKKUK.  8 1 

shall  themselves  be  punished  on  account  of  the  wicked- 
ness of  their  purpose.     Ch.  I.  13  ;  II. 

4.    As  an  answer  to  the  prayer  of  Habakkuk  he  sees 
the  Chaldeans  discomfited  and  the  Jews  rescued. 

LITERATURE. 

**  Messianic  Prophecy" Briggs,  C.  A., /« /(t?^^. 

♦*  Prophets,"  vol.  3 Ewald,  H. 

"Minor  Prophets" Keil. 

"  New  Translation  of  Hebrew  Prophets," 

vol.  I Noyes,  G.  R. 

♦*  The  Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry"  ....  Taylor,  I. 


9.   ZEPHANIAH. 

Ohapters,  3. 

§  1.  Author  and  Date.  —  Of  this  prophet  we  know 
little  beyond  what  is  told  us  in  the  heading  to  his  book. 
He  is  there  said  to  be  the  great-great-grandson  of  one 
Hezekiah,  by  most  supposed  to  be  the  eminent  king  of 
Judah,  of  that  name.     If  so,  he  was  of  royal  descent. 

As  to  date,  the  prophecy,  according  to  the  heading, 
belongs  to  the  reign  of  Josiah,  641-610  B.C.;  but 
whether  to  the  earlier,  the  middle,  or  the  last  part 
of  his  reign  is  disputed.  Josiah's  reign  is  usually  di- 
vided into  the  ante-reform  period,  641-630  B.C.,  the  re- 
form period,  630-624  B.C.,  and  the  post-reform  period, 
624  B.C.  Kleinert  gives  strong  reasons  for  the  belief 
that  the  book  belongs  to  the  last  of  these  periods.  See 
Intro,  in  Lange.  Keil  accepts  the  second  period ;  Bleek, 
the  first. 

§  2.  Purpose  of  the  Book. — It  is  a  judgment  hymn. 
It  probably  suggested  the  grand  and  sublime  ''Dies 
Irae."  It  is  unlike  many  of  the  other  prophetical  books, 
in  being  a  well-sustained,  consecutive,  impassioned 
course  of  thought,  as  if  it  were  the  sum-total  of  the 
prophet's  public  sermons.  It  is  also  broader  and  more 
universal  in  its  sweep  than  most  of  the  others.  It  is 
a  doomsday  book  for  all  nations.  "  If  any  one  wishes 
all  the  secret  oracles  of  the  prophets  to  be  given  in  a 
brief    compendium,   let   him   read   through  this    brief 


ZEPHANIAH.  83 

Zephaniah."    (Bucer,  1 528  a.d.,  quoted  from  Keil's  Com., 
p.  123.)     Keil's  analysis  in  substance  is  as  follows  :  — 
(i)  A  threat  of  judgment.     Ch.  I. 

(2)  An  exhortation  to  repentance.     Chs.  II.-III.  8. 

(3)  A  promise  of  salvation  to  Israel  after  the  judg- 
ment.    Ch.  III.  9-20. 

§  3.  Contemporaries.  —  Those  who  study  him  for 
analogies  of  style  find  a  special  influence  upon  him  by 
Isaiah,  Micah,  Joel,  and  Nahum ;  but  he  seems  to  have 
had  only  Jeremiah  as  an  associate. 

LITERATURE. 

Lange Introduction  by  Kleinert. 

Commentary  on  the  Minor  Prophets      .    Keil. 


10.   HAGGAI. 

Chapters,  2. 

§  1.  Author.  —  The  name  of  this  prophet  is  sup- 
posed to  mean  "The  festive  one,"  or  "Festive."  All 
we  know  of  him  pertains  to  his  official  position,  Chs. 

I.  I  ;  II.  I,  10,  20 ;  and  Ezra  V.  i ;  VI.  14.  These  pas- 
sages inform  us  that  he  began  his  work  in  the  second 
year  of  Darius  Hystaspes,  520  b.c,  that  his  sermons 
cover  a  period  of  about  four  months,  that  they  had  to 
do  chiefly  with  the  building  of  the  second  temple,  and 
that  he  was  associated  with  Zechariah  in  urging  on 
the  enterprise,  Zech.  I.  i.      Some  think,  relying  on  Ch. 

II.  2,  that  he  was  a  native  of  Judea,  and  one  of  the 
Babylonian  captives,  but  that  is  uncertain.  If  so,  he 
would  have  been  nearly  seventy  years  old  when  he 
uttered  these  prophecies.  He  was  the  earliest  of  the 
prophets  of  the  Restoration,  preceding  Zechariah  about 
two  months. 

§  2.  Aim  of  the  Book,  and  Contents.  —  The  pur- 
pose of  these  discourses  is  to  encourage  the  people  in 
the  erection  of  the  second  temple.  They  are  arranged 
chronologically,  each  discourse  being  dated  (except  Ch. 
I.  12-15),  the  whole  bearing  closely  upon  the  main 
theme.  Of  course  we  have  thus  but  a  summary  of  his 
teachings.  There  are  four  if  not  five  discourses.  We 
may  divide  them  into  five  as  follows  :  — 

First  Discourse.  Reproof  and  warning  to  the  people 
for  allowing  the  temple  to  remain  in  ruins.    Ch.  I.  i-ii. 


HAGGAI.  85 

Second  Discourse.  A  promise  of  the  divine  aid  in 
their  work.     Ch.  I.  12-15. 

Third  Discourse.  A  stimulus  to  their  weak  faith,  by 
the  assurance  that  the  new  temple  shall  be  filled  with 
the  Messianic  glory.     Ch.  II.  1-9. 

Fourth  Discourse.  A  reproof  for  their  ceremonial 
irreligion  and  a  promise  of  the  divine  blessing.  Ch.  II. 
10-12. 

Fifth  Discourse.  A  promise  that  though  the  king- 
doms of  the  world  should  be  destroyed,  the  throne  of 
Israel  should  stand,  Zerubbabel  being  God's  covenant 
representative.     Ch.  II.  20-23. 

§  3.  Messianic  Prophecies.  —  In  the  wide  sense ;  i.e, 
the  future  of  the  Messianic  kingdom.  Chs.  II.  6-9  and 
II.  21. 

Note. — J.  F.  McCurdy,  in  Lange,  says:  **It  might 
be  interesting  to  trace  the  relations  subsisting  between 
the  several  discourses  of  the  prophets  of  the  Restora- 
tion, which  bear  upon  the  Temple ;  e.g.  how  Haggai 
assumes  the  identity  of  the  Second  Temple  and  the 
Church  of  Christ,  while  Zechariah  (Ch.  VI.  12-18)  seems 
to  contradict  him  by  asserting  that  the  Messiah  would 
himself  build  the  Temple  of  Jehovah,  and  Malachi 
resolves  into  full  harmony  these  seeming  discords  of 
the  prophetic  lyre  by  predicting  that  Jehovah  would 
come  to  his  Temple,  and  purify  the  sons  of  Levi." 
Mai.  III.   1-3. 

§  4.  Style.  —  Its  force  is  in  its  use  of  the  interroga- 
tion.    In  other  respects  weak.     Late  Hebrew. 


86  LATER   PROPHETS. 


LITERATURE. 

"Messianic  Prophecies" Delitzsch,  F. 

«' Traditions,"   in   Smith's   Bib.    Diet.    art. 

"  Haggai." 
*'  Christology,"  voL  3,  pp.  243-271     .     .     .    Hengstenberg,  E.  W. 
•'  Scripture  Testimony  to  the  Messiah,"  vol. 

I,  pp.  283  sq Smith,  J.  P. 


II.   ZECHARIAH. 

Chapters,  14i 

§  1.  Author  and  Date.  —  In  Ch.  I.  I,  the  prophet 
calls  himself  "the  son  of  Berechiah,  the  son  of  Iddo, 
the  prophet "  ;  i.e.  the  son  of  the  former,  and  the  grand- 
son of  the  latter.  In  Ezra  V.  i  and  VI.  14  he  is  called 
the  son  of  Iddo.  This  apparent  discrepancy  may  be 
accounted  for  by  the  hypothesis  — 

(a)  That  the  word  "  son  "  as  used  by  Ezra  signifies 
descendant,  just  as  Laban  is  called  the  son  of  Nahor, 
though  he  was  his  grandson  (Gen.  XXIX.  5),  and  as 
Jehu  in  2  Kings  IX.  14  is  called  **  the  son  of  Jehoshaphat, 
the  son  of  Nimshi,"  and  in  verse  20  of  the  same  chapter 
he  is  simply  styled  "the  son  of  Nimshi "  ;  or 

{b)  That  his  father  died  while  he  was  young,  and 
being  a  man  of  no  special  eminence,  his  name  was 
omitted  in  the  genealogical  lists  of  Ezra,  though  fil- 
ially recognized  by  the  prophet  himself;   or 

(c)  That  in  the  lists  of  Nehemiah  and  Ezra  (Neh. 
XII.  I,  4-8)  it  was  the  priestly  descent  of  Zechariah  to 
which  they  specially  referred,  and  hence  they  link  him 
with  a  well-known  Iddo,  a  prophet  of  priestly  descent, 
rather  than  with  a  less-known  Berechiah.  If  the  third 
hypothesis  be  the  true  one,  then  Zechariah  may  be  con- 
sidered a  prophet  by  inspiration,  and  a  priest  by  heredi- 
tary descent ;  certainly  suggestive,  since,  Messianically 
considered,  his  prophecies  pertain  to  the  Priest-King  of 
human  salvation. 


88  ZECHARIAH. 

As  to  the  date  of  his  prophecies  (granting  unity  of 
authorship),  the  first  eight  chapters  belong  to  the  first 
four  years  of  the  reign  of  Darius  Hystaspes,  b.c.  521- 
517,  but  the  remainder  of  the  book  is  not  dated.  Zech. 
I.  I,  7  and  VII.  I. 

Whether  or  not  Chs.  IX.-XIV.  were  composed  by  him 
later  in  life,  or  are  a  higher  and  more  spiritual  view  of 
the  leading  thought  in  the  first  part  of  the  book,  i.e.  res- 
toration and  redemption,  and  were  composed  about  the 
same  time,  or  are  the  productions  of  other  authors,  must 
be  decided  by  careful  exegesis. 

§  2.    Unity  of  Authorship. 

{a)  Tradition.  —  This  is  unanimous  in  its  favor.  The 
Sept.  knows  no  other  author.  Christ  and  his  apostles 
recognized  but  one  author.  The  controversy  concerning 
unity  of  authorship  dates  from  Joseph  Mede,  in  the 
seventeenth  century  (1653),  and  is  based  upon  Matt. 
XXVII.  9,  10,  quoting  Zech.  XI.  12,  13,  as  the  language 
of  Jeremiah.  Hence  this  part  of  Zechariah  must  be 
Jeremiah's.  That  theory  is  now  given  up,  and  Chs.  IX.- 
XIV.  have  been  put  under  the  dissecting  knife,  dividing 
them  into  portions  varying  in  date  from  772  B.C.  to  330 
B.C.  See  art.  "  Zech.,"  Smith's.  Bib.  Diet.,  a  very  candid 
article  by  Perowne,  J.  J.  S.  Also  a  more  exhaustive 
discussion,  to  be  read  cautiously  :  "  Christology,"  vol.  3, 
Hengstenberg,  E.  W.  For  full  discussion  pro  and  con, 
see  Keil  and  Bleek.  For  a  summary  and  clear  view  of 
the  topic,  see  Lange,  Chambers,  T.  W.  Also  "Zecha- 
riah and  his  Prophecies,"  Wright,  C.  H.  H. ;  Bampton 
Lectures,  1879.  Also  "  Com.  for  English  Readers,"  vol. 
5,  preface  by  Lowe,  W.  H. 


LATER   PROPHETS.  89 

{b)  Style.  —  If  variation  of  style  is  allowed  for  varia- 
tion of  subject,  there  is  little  ground  for  a  double  or 
triple  authorship.  Compare  with  Zechariah,  Ezekiel, 
Jeremiah,  and  Hosea  for  similar  variations.  See  "  Minor 
Prophets,"  pp.  509-511,  Pusey,  E.  B.  "Zechariah  and 
His  Prophecies,"  Intro.  §  7,  p.  40,  Wright,  C.  H.  H. 

{c)  Unity  of  Theme.  —  The  Messianic  thought  per- 
vades the  book,  and  like  prophecy  generally,  expands 
and  becomes  more  and  more  definite  with  the  movement 
of  the  prophet's  mind  and  purpose.  The  thread  of  the 
Messianic  thought  in  Zechariah  is  as  follows :  — 

1.  Messiah  as  a  Lowly  Servant.     Ch.  III.  8. 

2.  Messiah  as  Priest  and  King.     Ch.  VI.  12,  13. 

3.  Messiah  as  an  afflicted,  humiliated  Monarch.  Ch. 
IX.  9,  10. 

4.  Messiah  betrayed  and  rejected.     Ch.  XL  12,  13. 

5.  Messiah  slain.     Ch.  XIII.  i. 

6.  Messiah  slain  by  the  Agency  of  Jehovah.  Ch. 
XIII.  7. 

§  3.  Difficulty.  —  Settling  of  authorship  and  arrange- 
ment of  chapters.     See  "  Zechariah,"  Lowe,  W.  H. 

LITERATURE. 

♦*  Zechariah."    The  Expositor,  '86 Dods,  Marcus. 

*' Lectures  on  Zechariah" Alexander,  W.  L. 


12.   MALACHI. 

Ohapters ;  Heb.,  3  ;  Eng.,  4. 

§  1.  Author  and  Date.  —  So  little  is  known  of  the 
author  of  this  book,  many  have  believed  that  the  title 
was  a  symbolical  designation,  signifying  "my  messen- 
ger" or  "Jehovah's  angel"  or  "messenger."  But  that 
the  name  is  significant  of  office  proves  nothing  against 
the  proper  personality  of  the  prophet  any  more  than 
in  the  case  of  Obadiah,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  or  Elijah. 
The  name  does  not  appear  elsewhere  in  the  O.  T.  The 
early  Christian  Fathers  accepted  the  opinion  that  the 
name  was  not  a  personal  name,  probably  from  the  title 
of  the  book  in  the  Sept.,  viz. :  "  By  the  hand  of  His 
Messenger." 

The  date  of  the  prophecy  is  probably  about  433  B.C. 
Bleek  and  Ewald  put  it  earlier.  The  general  opinion 
derived  from  the  contents  of  the  book,  is,  that  Malachi 
was  a  contemporary  with  Nehemiah.  This  is  inferred 
from  the  facts  :  — 

id)  That  Malachi  speaks  of  the  Temple  as  having 
been  built  some  time.     Chs.  I.  10;   III.   i-io. 

{b)  That  the  Jews  are  represented  as  complaining  of 
civil  affairs,  implying  such  times  after  the  Return  as 
are  described  in  Ezra  and  Nehemiah. 

if)  That  he  finds  fault  with  heathen  wives,  as  did  Nehe- 
miah.    Neh.  XIII.  23-31 ;  cf.  Mai.  II.  10,  11 ;  and 

(d)   That  he  censures  the  withholding  of  tithes,  as  did 


MALACHI.  91 

Nehemiah.  Mai.  III.  8-19;  cf.  Neh.  XIII.  10-12.  All 
agree  in  considering  him  as  the  last  of  the  prophets. 
**  Malachi,"  says  a  critic,  "is  like  a  late  evening  which 
brings  a  long  day  to  a  close ;  he  is  also  the  morning 
dawn  which  bears  a  glorious  day  in  its  womb." 

§  2.  Course  of  Thought.  —  Assuming  that  we  have 
in  the  book  but  one  prophecy  founded  upon  many 
prophetic  oral  teachings,  the  book  may  be  divided  into 
three  parts.  After  an  introduction  portraying  the  love 
of  Jehovah  for  his  people  (Ch.  I.  1-6),  — 

1.  A  portraiture  of  Jehovah's  fatherly  disposition 
towards  His  covenant  people,  as  a  censure  upon  their 
irreverence  (Ch.  I.  6-10),  and  as  the  ground  of  impend- 
ing judgments  upon  their  unfaithful  priests.  Chs.  I. 
ii-II.  9. 

2.  A  portraiture  of  Jehovah  as  the  only  God  and 
Father,  as  a  censure  upon  heathen  marriages  and  unlaw- 
ful divorce.     Ch.  II.  10-16. 

3.  A  portraiture  of  Jehovah  as  the  righteous  and 
eternal  judge  of  His  people,  as  a  censure  upon  hypo- 
critical worship,  upon  the  complaint  that  God  delays 
His  punishment,  and  is  unjust  in  His  treatment  of  the 
good  and  bad ;  and  as  an  assurance  that  He  would  sud- 
denly appear  as  the  Judge  of  the  ungodly,  and  as  the 
Defender  of  His  people,  coming  as  He  would  in  the 
spirit  and  power  of  an  Elijah,  who  should  introduce 
the  era  prior  to  the  grand  assize.  Chs.  II.  17 ; 
IV.   (Eng.) 

§3.  Style. —  Conversational;  suggestive  of  the  be- 
lief that  it  is  almost  a  facsimile  of  the  prophet's  oral 


92  LATER   PROPHETS. 

instructions.  It  is  broken  up  into  Socratic  aphorisms, 
abounds  in  ellipses,  is  crisp  and  terse,  rendering  it  dif- 
ficult to  decide  whether  the  book  is  one  continuous 
prophecy  or  the  condensed  compilation  of  several 
prophecies. 

LITERATURE. 

On  the  Name  of  the  Prophet :  — 

*'  Christology  of  the  O.  T,"  vol.  4,  pp.  156- 

161 Hengstenberg,  E.  W. 

Also, 

"  Minor  Prophets  " Keil,  C.  F. 

Introd.  to  Malachi,  vol.  2.     Ditto      .     .     .     Henderson,  E. 

Also,  Appendix  to  art. 

"Malachi,"  in  Smith's  Bib.  Diet Hackett,  H.  B. 

"  Prophets  of  the  Reformation  "    ....     Moore,  T.  V. 

For  Messianic  passage  (Ch.   III.)  see   "  Messianic  Prophecy," 
Briggs,  C.  A.,  p.  472. 

Note.  —  Mai.  I.  11  is  the  well-known  proof-text  for  the  Mass. 


IV.   THE    HAGIOGRAPHA. 


As  early  as  the  prologue  to  Ecclesiasticus  (about 
130  B.C.)  a  distinction  is  found  in  the  books  of  the 
O.  T.,  grouping  them  as  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and 
"the  other  books  of  our  fathers,"  or,  ''the  rest  of  the 
books,"  or  "the  others  that  have  followed  their  steps." 
These  other  books  are  evidently  the  remainder  of  the 
books  belonging  to  some  recognized  canon.  They  are 
termed  in  the  Hebrew  Text  vaguely,  ^^  K't/mbim,''  ^'writ- 
ingSy'  or  '^ books.''  The  literal  translation  of  this  term 
would  be  r^pa(f)ela,  and  early  in  the  Christian  era  they 
were  termed  a7t67/3a</)a  ;  i.e.  ^'  sacred  writings'' 

The  arrangement  of  this  group  varies.  All  the  Mss. 
of  the  Sept.  (Bleek)  place  Daniel  as  the  fourth  of  the 
major  prophets  ;  Ruth  next  to  Judges ;  and  Lamenta- 
tions as  an  appendix  to  Jeremiah.  Bleek  for  substance 
says,  "that  it  was  not  before  the  second  century  that  the 
Jews  placed  Ruth  and  Lamentations  with  the  Megilloth, 
and  that  for  special  reasons  connected  with  synagogue 
service."  "In  other  respects  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  arrangement  of  the  books  of  the  Hebrew  Canon  is 
the  earlier  and  original  one ;  and  that  of  the  Sept.  later, 
made  to  suit  the  contents  of  the  books."  See  art. 
"  Canon  "  in  Smith's  Bib.  Diet,  and  Encyclopedia  Bri- 
tannica. 


94  THE   HAGIOGRAPHA. 

These  books  are  arranged  in  the  Hebrew  Bible,  as 
follows  :  — 

{a)  The  Psalms,  Proverbs,  and  Job,  regarded  by 
the  Jews  as  highly  poetical,  and  distinguished  by  the 
Massorites  by  a  peculiar  accentuation. 

{b)  The  Song  of  Songs,  Ruth,  Lamentations, 
EccLESiASTES,  EsTHER,  Called  "The  Five  Rolls,"  and 
publicly  read  in  the  synagogues  on  certain  feast  days 
by  the  later  Jews. 

{c)  Daniel,  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  Chronicles. 


I.    PSALMS. 

Psalms,  150. 

§  1.  Title.  —  The  designation  for  these  lyrics  is  un- 
known. In  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  they  are  called 
D^^np,  ''Praisesr  or  UhTiT}  ISD,  ''Book  of 
Praises^  In  the  Sept.  the  word  -yjraX/jLOL,  or  Psalms,  is 
used  as  a  translation  of  a  Hebrew  word  signifying 
"song  accompanied  with  music,"  "lyric  poems."  But 
this  Hebrew  word  is  never  used  in  the  plural  in  the 
O.  T.,  and  seems  to  be  applied  chiefly  to  such  psalms 
as  were  arranged  for  musical  accompaniments.  The 
term  "Psalter,"  from  a  Greek  word  signifying  "a 
stringed  instrument,"  is  used  as  the  word  "  Lyre  "  for  a 
collection  of  lyric  poems.  In  the  New  Testament,  this 
Psalter  is  simply  called  "The  Book  of  Psalms"  (Luke 
.XX.  42  ;  Acts  I.  20),  a  title  adopted  by  the  Vulgate  from 
the  Sept.,  which  became  usage  in  the  Christian  Church. 
"The  verb  'to  praise,'"  says  Delitzsch,  "includes  both 


PSALMS.  95 

the  '  Magnificat '    and  the  *  De  Profundis.*  "      Herder 
calls  the  Psalms  "  the  hymn-book  for  all  times." 

§  2.  The  Psalms  as  a  Compilation.  —  In  the  canon 
of  the  O.  T.,  the  Psalms  are  reckoned  as  one  book 
of  the  Hagiographa,  and  are  so  referred  to  by  Christ 
and  his  apostles ;  but  in  the  Hebrew  Bible  they  are 
divided  into  five  books,  the  close  of  each  of  the  first 
four  being  indicated  by  a  doxology.  These  books  are 
divided  thus :  — 

Book  I,  Psalms  I.-XLI. 

Book  2,  Psalms  XLH.-LXXH. 

Book  3,  Psalms  LXXHI.-LXXXIX. 

Book  4,  Psalms  XC.-CVI. 

Book  5,  Psalms  CVH.-CL. 

When  and  by  whom  this  division  was  made  is  un- 
certain. 

§  3.  Authors  and  Date.  —  If  we  are  to  be  guided 
by  the  superscriptions,  Book  First  might  be  termed 
Davidic ;  Book  Second,  both  Levitic  and  Davidic,  com- 
piled perhaps  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah  ;  Book  Third, 
Levitic,  probably  compiled  in  the  reign  of  Josiah ;  and 
Books  Fourth  and  Fifth,  containing  seventeen  bearing 
David's  name,  and  many  anonymous  psalms,  probably 
belonging  to  the  time  of  Nehemiah  and  Ezra.  All  of 
these  books,  however,  seem  to  be  crossed  by  hymns  in- 
serted according  to  the  plan  of  the  compiler  or  compilers. 
Each  psalm  must  be  tested  by  its  contents  as  to  author- 
ship and  date. 


96  THE    HAGIOGRAPHA. 

§  4.  Superscriptions.  —  These  are  of  three  kinds : 
those  which  mark  their  musical  character,  those  which 
explain  the  origin  of  a  given  psalm,  and  those  which 
assign  the  psalms  to  particular  authors.  They  have 
the  authority  of  tradition.  They  bear  the  marks  of 
antiquity  in  their  obscurity  and  enigmatical  character. 
Probably  some  of  them  were  prefixed  by  the  composer. 
Many  were  placed  there  by  the  compilers.  Several  are 
evidently  of  late  date.  In  their  authority  they  are 
analogous  to  the  subscriptions  to  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament.  It  is  impossible  to  decide  in  all  cases  what 
they  mean,  but  it  is  not  correct  to  say,  as  is  often  said, 
that  as  a  general  fact  they  contradict  the  apparent 
meaning  of  the  contents  of  such  psalms. 

§  5.  Specialties  in  the  Psalms.  —  {a)  The  type  of 
their  poetry.  They  are  religious  lyrics  set  to  music, 
and  designed  chiefly  for  the  services  of  the  Temple. 
The  epic  element  and  the  dramatic  element  are  not  to 
be  found  in  them.  The  Psalter  is  the  Jewish  Psalmody, 
the  poetic  expression  of  a  pious  heart  in  its  effort  to 
worship  God. 

ib)  The  form  of  their  poetry.  Except  by  a  few  critics, 
all  efforts  to  arrange  the  laws  of  Hebrew  in  harmony 
with  those  of  the  Greek  as  to  quantity  and  accentuation 
have  been  deemed  failures.  There  is  a  measured  move- 
ment technically  called  **the  parallelism  of  members," 
and  these  parallelisms  may  be  arranged  in  three  classes, 
viz.  :  ''  Synonymous  Parallelisms,"  where  the  members 
express  the  same,  or  nearly  the  same  thought,  though 
in  different  words,  e.g.  Ps.  I.  2;  VIII.  5;  "Synthetic 
Parallelisms,"  where  the  construction  of  the  sentence  is 


PSALMS.  97 

similar,  but  with  more  or  less  variation  in  thought,  e.g, 
Ps.  XIX.  7-10;  and  "Antithetic  Parallelisms,"  where 
the  correspondence  consists  in  opposition  to  or  contrast 
with  the  previous  sentiment,  e.g.  Ps.  I.  6 ;  XX.  8.  This 
class  is  found  chiefly  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs. 

(c)  Peculiar  structure  of  some  of  the  Psalms.  Under 
this  head  come  the  acrostic  or  alphabetical  form,  e.g.  Ps. 
XXV.,  XXXIV.,  XXXVIL,  CXI.,  CXIX.,  CXLV.  ;  the 
gradational  form,  where  the  last  expression  in  each  par- 
allelism is  repeated  in  the  first  member  of  the  following 
one,  e.g.  Ps.  CXXI.  and  CXXIV.  ;  and  the  choralioxva, 
to  be  sung  by  alternate  choirs ;  e.g.  Ps.  XXIV.,  CXV., 
CXXXV.  These  are  minor  matters,  but  they  aid  in 
catching  the  spirit  of  the  authors  of  the  Psalms. 

LITERATURE. 

**  Introductions  to  the  Psalms,"  vol.  2      .     .     .  Thrupp,  F.  J. 

*'  The  Book  of  Psalms  " Smithes  Bib.  Die 

*«  Biblical  Study" Briggs,  C.  A. 

*' Messianic  Prophecy  " Briggs,  C.  A. 

*' Origin  and  Growth  of  the  Psalms"    ....  Murray,  T.  C. 
"The   Psalms:  their  History,  Teachings,  and 

Use" Binnie,  W. 

*'  The  Psalter  a  Witness  to  the  Divine  Origin 

of  the  Bible  " Chambers,  T.  W. 

"  The  Psalms  a  Witness  to  Christ."     Bampton 

Lectures,  1876 Alexander,  W. 

Bib.  Sac.  vol.  5. 

North  Am.  Rev.  vols.  31,  35,  63. 

"  Bards  of  the  Bible  " Gilfillan,  G. 

*' The  Psalmist  and  the  Scientist" Matheson,  G. 

Corns.,  Delitzsch,  F.,  ed.  '88;  Perowne,  J.  J.  S.,ed.  4;  Jennings 
&  Lowe,  Alexander,  J.  A.,  Cheyne,  T.  K. 


2.   PROVERBS. 

Chapters,  31. 

§  1.  Title.  —  This  book  is  so  called  from  the  intro- 
ductory Hebrew  word  or  words,  ^^ Mishle  SlilomOy^ 
** Proverbs"  or  "Proverbs  of  Solomon."  The  Hebrew 
word  has  for  its  ground  meaning  the  idea  of  similitude, 
comparison,  and  is  used  in  the  Scriptures  with  a  variety 
of  significations.  It  is  used  for  pithy  sayings  which 
pass  into  popular  proverbs,  for  purposes  of  mockery, 
Micah  H.  4 ;  Hab.  H.  6 ;  for  the  parable,  i  Sam.  X.  12 ; 
for  sententious  maxims  or  aphorisms.  Pro  v.  1.  i  sq.,  and 
Ecc.  Xn.  9 ;  and  also  for  longer  parabolic  illustrations. 
Num.  XXni.  7-10  sq. 

Note.  —  This  variety  of  use  suggests  caution  as  to 
the  limitation  of  the  meaning  of  the  word  for  critical 
purposes,  by  those  who  theorize  as  to  the  unity  of  the 
Book  of  Proverbs,  and  find  thereby  a  variety  of  authors 
even  in  small  portions  of  it.  Parts  of  the  book  are 
composed  of  separate  maxims.  Other  parts  contain  full 
similitudes,  or  complete  descriptions  of  a  germinant 
moral  principle,  or  a  portraiture  of  character. 

§  2.  Author.  —  By  the  superscriptions  (Chs.  I.  i  ;  X. 
I  ;  XXV.  i),  the  authorship  of  these  portions  is  ascribed 
to  "Solomon,  the  son  of  David,  King  of  Israel."  The 
last  two  chapters  are  assigned  to  other  authors ;  who, 
is  unknown.     Ch.  XXIV.  23-34  is  ascribed  to  a  class  of 


PROVERBS.  99 

unknown  wise  men.  Chs.  XXV.-XXIX.  are  stated  to 
be  "  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon  which  the  men  of  Heze- 
kiah,  king  of  Judah,  copied  out."  Solomon,  therefore, 
was  not  the  author  of  the  whole  book,  neither  was  it 
compiled  as  a  whole  in  his  day.  According  to  its  own 
testimony  it  is  a  compilation  completed  not  before  the 
reign  of  Hezekiah,  727-6(^7  B.C.  This  work  of  the 
collectors  presupposes  some  existing  book  to  which 
they  attached  a  supplement.  Who  wrote  the  appendi- 
ces (Chs.  XXX.-XXXL),  and  whether  they  are  a  later 
addition,  cannot  be  determined.  On  account  of  this 
diversity  of  authorship,  indicated  by  the  book  itself,  the 
arrangement  of  the  book  has  taxed  the  skill  of  the 
critics,  no  two  of  whom  seem  to  agree.  Nearly  all, 
however,  admit  that  the  norm  of  the  book  (Chs.  X. 
i-XXII.  16),  is  unquestionably  Solomon's.  Wright, 
W.  A.,  in  Smith's  Bib.  Diet.,  sums  up  the  controversy 
thus :  "  It  appears  from  a  consideration  of  the  whole 
question  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Book  of  Proverbs 
arrived  at  its  present  shape,  that  the  nucleus  of  the 
whole  was  the  collection  of  Solomon's  Proverbs  in  Chs. 
X.  i-XXII.  16;  that  to  this  was  added  the  further  col- 
lection made  by  the  learned  men  of  the  court  of  Heze- 
kiah, Chs.  XXV.-XXIX.  ;  that  these  two  were  put 
together  and  united  with  Chs.  XXII.  17-XXIV.,  and 
that  to  this  as  a  whole  the  introduction,  Chs.  I.-IX., 
was  affixed  {sic) ;  but  whether  it  was  compiled  by  the 
same  writer  who  added  Chs.  XXII.  16-XXIV.  cannot 
be  determined.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  assert  that  this 
same  compiler  may  not  have  added  the  concluding 
chapters  of  the  book  to  his  previous  collection."     As 


lOO  THE   HAGIOGRAPHA. 

to  the  date  of  the  final  addition,  few  agree.  Seemingly, 
the  reign  of  Hezekiah  is  the  earliest  termhiiis  a  quo. 

Note  I.  —  For  the  learning  of  Solomon,  and  the  proba- 
ble source  of  the  collection  by  the  learned  men  of  Heze- 
kiah's  court,  see  i  Kings  IV.  29-34. 

Note  2.  —  There  is  a  Jewish  tradition  that  Solomon 
composed  "The  Song  of  Songs"  in  his  youth,  "The 
Proverbs  "  in  his  mature  manhood,  and  "  Ecclesiastes  " 
in  his  old  age.  The  grounds  of  such  a  distinction  are 
evident. 

Note  3.  —  For  a  list  of  quotations  in  N.  T.,  see 
Introductions. 

Note  4.  —  For  the  variations  in  the  Sept.,  see  Lange, 
Intro.,  §  13. 

§  3.  General  Analysis. —  i.  General  Introduction. 
Ch.  I.  1-6. 

2.  Wisdom,  as  the  chief  good,  commended  to  youth. 
Chs.  I.  7-IX. 

3.  Sundry  maxims,  precepts,  and  admonitions  per- 
taining to  human  life.     Chs.  X.-XXII.  16. 

4.  Additions  of  a  similar  character  by  the  so-called 
wise  men.     Chs.  XXII.  17-XXIV.  34. 

5.  Gleanings  by  the  men  of  Hezekiah  pertaining  to 
kings  and  their  subjects.     Chs.  XXV. -XXIX. 

6.  Two  supplements.  Chs.  XXX.-XXXI.  {a)  The 
words  of  Agur.  Ch.  XXX.  ip)  The  words  of  Lemuel, 
and  the  poem  in  praise  of  a  wise,  capable  woman.  Ch, 
XXXI. 

For  a  minute  analysis,  see  Lange,  Zockler,  O.,  and 
appendix  to  Proverbs  in  Smith's  Bib.  Diet.,  Conant, 
T.J. 


PROVERBS.  lOI 

§  4.   Difficulty.  — Is   Wisdom    in    Ch.   VIII.    to  be 

understood  as  poetic  drapery ;  i.e.  a  personification  of 
one  of  Jehovah's  attributes,  or  is  it  an  adumbration  of 
the  hypostatic  person  of  the  Logos  ?  For  the  latter  view, 
see  Bib.  Sac.  vol.  15.  For  the  former,  Com.,  Delitzsch, 
Introd. 

I  prefer  the  view  that  we  have  here  an  impersonation 
of  a  divine  principle  as  a  law  of  the  universe  to  which 
all  creation  is  subject.     So  Conant,  T.  J. 

LITERATURE. 

Besides  usual  Corns.,  see  Stuart,  M.,  and  Conant,  T.  J.  Practi- 
cal, see  "  Laws  from  Heaven  for  Life  on  Earth,"  Arnot,  W. ;  Lec- 
tures, Wardlaw,  R.,  3  vols.  "  Solomon  and  Job,"  Cheyne,  T.  K.  j 
"  Solomon  :  his  Life  and  Times,"  Farrar,  F.  W. 


3.  JOB. 

Chapters,  42. 

§  1.  Title. — The  title  by  which  this  book  has  always 
been  designated  is  taken  from  its  principal  hero.  If 
the  name  is  derived  from  a  Hebrew  root,  as  with  most 
critics,  it  seems  to  signify  "  The  assailed,  or  persecuted 
one,"  Ex.  XXIII.  22;  if  from  an  Arabic  root,  as 
with  many,  "The  repenting  one."  See  Lange,  Zock- 
ler,  O. 

§  2.  Authorship. — Opinions  vary  and  are  conjec- 
tural or  hypothetical.  The  book  itself  is  silent.  Some, 
Job  himself;  others,  Moses;  Canon  Cook;  others,  an 
unknown  writer  of  the  time  of  Solomon  ;  Delitzsch, 
etc. ;  others,  a  writer  in  the  exile  period ;  Bleek,  David- 
son, etc.  Few  seek  a  later  authorship  than  the  exile 
period,  on  account  of  Ezek.  XIV.  14-20. 

In  favor  of  Moses  are  — 

{a)  The  tradition  of  the  Jews  and  some  of  the  early 
Christian  writers.     Origen,  Jerome. 

ib)  The  plausibility  that  Moses  in  Midian  would  be 
wont  to  meditate  upon  the  theme  of  the  book,  the 
mysteries  of  human  suffering. 

{c)  That  he  was  equal  to  the  task  as  well  versed  in 
Egyptian  learning,  with  which  the  book  teems,  and  with 
the  natural  history  of  Egypt,  with  which  the  book  is 
familiar. 


JOB.  103 

{d)  That  the  name  for  the  Deity  in  the  prosaic  por- 
tion being  Jehovah,  and  in  the  dialogues,  for  the  most 
part,  Eloah,  indicates  Hebrew  authorship,  a  name  with 
which  Moses  was  familiar. 

{e)  That  its  un-Jewish  tone,  i.e.  absence  of  reference 
to  the  Mosaic  law,  temple,  priesthood,  sacrifices  (except 
patriarchal),  points  to  a  date  previous  to  the  time  of 
Moses  as  the  Hebrew  lawgiver. 

In  favor  of  some  writer  of  the  Solomonic  period  are  — 

{ci)  The  artistic  structure  and  philosophical  tone  of 
the  book,  which  presuppose  a  higher  training  in  com- 
position and  speculation  than  in  the  Mosaic  period. 

ip)  The  Aramaisms  or  Arabisms  in  the  language  of 
Job's  friends,  which  indicate  such  contact  with  neigh- 
boring nations  as  existed  in  the  Solomonic  period. 

{c)  Allusions  to  the  Mosaic  Law ;  e.g.  Ch.  V.  14  and 
Deut.  XXVni.  29-XXXI.  II  and  Lev.  XVHI.  17  and 
XX.  14. 

{d)  The  idea  of  Sheol,  or  the  invisible  world,  harmo- 
nizes with  the  Psalms  of  David. 

In  favor  of  the  exile  period  are  the  views  already  con- 
sidered in  favor  of  the  Solomonic  period,  together  with 
the  theory  that  the  poem  was  designed  as  a  source  of 
comfort  to  the  Jews  in  captivity,  and  is  to  be  inter- 
preted as  is  the  idea  of  the  Servant  of  Jehovah  in  Isa. 
XL.-LXVL  by  these  critics.  The  linguistic  argument 
is  drawn  from  the  analogy  of  language.  See  Isaiah,  vol. 
2,  Essay  9,  Cheyne,  T.  K. 

Note.  —  The  passage  in  Ezek.  already  referred  to 
seems  to  be  a  terminus  ad  qitem  for  authorship,  whether 
the  term  *'Job"  be  used  historically  or  ideally. 

In  favor  of  the  Ezraic  or  later  period,  the  chief  argu- 


I04  THE    HAGIOGRAPHA. 

ment  is  the  colloquy  between  Jehovah  and  Satan,  the 
idea  of  a  personal  Satan  being  claimed  as  of  Persian 
origin. 

Note.  — The  age  of  the  book  of  course  must  synchro- 
nize with  its  authorship. 

§  3»  The  Class  of  Poetry  to  which  the  Book  be- 
longrs.  —  It  has  been  called  an  epic,  a  drama,  a  tragedy, 
a  didactic  poem.  For  the  epic  there  are  few,  if  any, 
reasons.  It  has  some  of  the  elements  of  the  drama,  viz., 
dialogue,  something  of  a  plot  with  a  solution.  The  happy 
conclusion  antagonizes  the  conception  of  a  tragedy.  Its 
didactic  purpose  is  everywhere  apparent. 

§  4.  Is  the  book  historical,  or  the  poetic  conception 
of  the  author  }     Three  views  have  been  advocated. 

1.  Pure  history,  in  the  narrative  and  poetical  portions. 

2.  Unhistorical  in  all  its  parts  ;  the  poet's  creation. 

3.  An  historical  tradition  of  a  real  sufferer  like  Job, 
or  of  Job  himself,  adopted  by  the  writer  and  worked  up 
for  his  didactic  purposes. 

For  the  first,  are  the  supposed  views  of  Josephus  and 
some  Rabbins,  and  of  most  Christian  writers  until  the 
Reformation.  This  view  is  now  generally  abandoned. 
It  is  too  literal. 

For  the  second,  though  held  by  critics  so  unlike  as 
Hengstenberg  and  Reuss,  there  are  few  supporters. 

The  third  is  the  more  generally  accepted  opinion. 

Davidson,  A.  B.,  in  Com.,  sums  up  the  objections  to 
the  historical  view  substantially  as  follows  :  "  That  the 
book  is  not  literal  history  appears  — 

"  (i)  From  the  scenes  in  heaven  exhibited  in  the  pro- 


JOB.  105 

logue  (Chs.  I.,  II.),  and  from  the  lengthy  speeches  put 
into  the  mouth  of  the  Almighty,  Ch.  XXXVIII.  sq. 

"  (2)  From  the  symbolical  numbers,  three  and  seven, 
used  to  describe  Job's  flocks  and  his  children  ;  and  from 
the  fact  that  his  possessions  are  exactly  doubled  to  him 
on  his  restoration,  while  he  receives  again  seven  sons 
and  three  daughters,  precisely  as  before. 

"  (3)  From  the  dramatic  and  ideal  nature  of  the  ac- 
count of  Job's  calamities  (Ch.  I.  13  sq.),  where  the  forces 
of  nature  and  the  violence  of  men  alternate  in  bringing 
ruin  upon  him,  and  in  case  of  each  only  one  escapes  to 
tell  the  tidings. 

"  (4)  From  the  nature  of  the  debate  between  Job  and 
his  friends."  Too  artistic  ;  could  not  be  merely  extem- 
poraneous utterances. 

§6.  The  Teaching  of  the  Book.  — Prof.  W.  H. 
Green,  in  "  The  Book  of  Job  Unfolded,"  gives  this  as 
the  result  of  special  study. 

Subject^  "The  rectitude  of  the  Divine  Government 
when  the  righteous  are  specially  afflicted. 

"  I.  Special  suffering  implies  special  guilt.  —  Friends. 

"2.  Special  suffering  may  imply  God's  benevolent 
purpose  towards  the  sufferer.  —  Elihu. 

"3.  Special  suffering  is  designed  to  beget  uncondi- 
tional submission  to  the  wise  government  of  an  All- Wise 
God.  — God." 

This  is  an  analysis  according  to  the  main  contents  of 
the  book.  For  an  exhaustive  one,  see  Lange,  Zockler, 
O.  For  a  summary,  see  Bleek,  Intro.  For  the  best, 
perhaps,  unless  too  Christian,  see  Revised  Eng.  Script., 
Conant,  T.  J. 


I06  THE   HAGIOGRAPHA. 

§  6.  Difficulties.  —  These  are  very  ably  discussed  in 
Lange  by  Zockler,  O. 

LITERATURE. 

See  Lange,  Zockler,  O. 

Cambridge Davidson,  A.  B, 

"Biblical  Studies" Godet,  F. 

«  Short  Studies  on  Great  Subjects  " Froude,  J.  A. 

Bib.  Sac.  vol.  lo       Barrows,  E.  P. 

"  The  Expositor,"  August,  '88 Hutton,  W.  B. 


4.    CANTICLES ;   OR,  THE   SONG   OF   SONGS. 

Chapters,  3. 

§  1.  Canonicity.  —  This  depends  upon  the  facts  that 
it  is  found  in  the  Sept.,  in  the  translations  of  Aquila, 
Symmachus,  and  Theodotion,  in  the  catalogues  of  Melito 
and  others,  and  the  general  testimony  of  the  early  syna- 
gogue and  the  Christian  Church.  In  the  Mishna  it  is 
said,  "to  pollute^  the  hands";  i.e.  to  be  canonical. 
See  "  Solomon's  Songs,"  Kitto's  Cyclopedia,  Ginsburg, 
CD. 

§  2.  Title. —  In  the  Hebrew  Text  it  is  called  "The 
Song  of  Songs";  i.e.  "the  most  beautiful  of  songs,"  and 
the  fuller  statement,  "  The  Song  of  Songs  which  is 
Solomon's,"  not  as  some,  "  the  most  beautiful  song  of 
Solomon,"  but  the  most  beautiful  of  songs,  whose  author 
is  Solomon.  The  comparison  is  not  of  one  among  many, 
but  of  one  as  supremely  excellent,  like  the  phrase, 
"  Holy  of  holies,"  etc. 

Authorship  and  Date.  —  If  we  credit  the  super- 
scription whether  placed  there  by  the  author  or  by  the 
compiler,  the  book  is  Solomon's,  but  the  date  would  be 
conjectural ;  i.e.  whether  it  was  composed  in  his  youth, 
manhood,  or  old  age.  As  a  general  fact  the  Solomonic 
authorship  of  the  book  was  admitted  until  near  the 
close  of  the  last  century.     Modern  criticism,  much  of 

1  See  fc^nD  in  Neuerhebraische  unci  Chaldaische  Worterbuch,  Levy,  J. 


I08  THE    HAGIOGRAPHA. 

it,  rejects  the  authority  of  the  titles  to  the  psalms,  and 
the  prophetical  books,  and  this  poem,  relying  chiefly 
upon  the  internal  evidence  of  the  book  itself  as  sustain- 
ing or  rejecting  the  truthfulness  of  the  title. 

In  favor  of  Solomon  are  — 

(a)  The  manifest  knowledge  of  the  author,  exemplify- 
ing minutely  what  is  said  of  Solomon  in  i  Kings  IV.  33. 

{b)  The  manifold  evidence  that  the  book  describes  a 
state  of  royalty  in  the  highest  stage  of  commercial  pros- 
perity, as  was  singularly  true  of  the  reign  of  Solomon. 

if)  The  indications  that  the  territorial  boundaries  of 
the  kingdom  were  such  as  they  were  during  Solomon's 
reign  alone.  See  Chs.  I.  5  ;  I.  9 ;  III.  9 ;  IV.  i ;  IV.  4  ; 
VI.  4;     VII.  5;  IX.  5,  6. 

Of  course  these  facts  might  be  portrayed  by  another 
than  Solomon,  but  the  exuberance  of  such  knowledge 
harmonizes  with  Solomonic  authorship. 

{d)  Even  many  of  the  Aramaisms,  real  or  supposed, 
which  are  strongly  relied  upon  for  late  authorship ;  e.g. 
the  Persian  period,  are  found  in  the  Song  of  Deborah,  in 
Job  and  Amos,  and  may  be  accounted  for  by  Solomon's 
familiarity  with  them,  and  in  a  few  instances,  perhaps, 
may  be  a  copyist's  error. 

§  3.  Unity  of  the  Book.  —  As  to  the  actual  unity  of 
the  poem,  with  a  plot  and  well-defined  characters,  the 
diversity  of  opinions  and  the  hypotheses  employed  to 
solve  difficulties  render  a  satisfactory  conclusion  impos- 
sible. See  Lange,  Zockler,  Introd.,  with  marginal  notes, 
pp.  8-1 1.  Very  few  agree  as  to  the  number  of  charac- 
ters represented  in  the  poem,  and  when  they  do  agree, 
the  portions  of  the  poem  assigned  to  each  differ.     The 


CANTICLES.  109 

transitions  are  so  abrupt  as  to  require  the  author's  eye 
to  detect  them.  The  main  question,  however,  which 
has  its  bearing  on  the  method  adopted  for  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  poem,  is  whether  the  loved  one  in  the 
poem  is  the  object  of  passion  by  two  lovers,  a  king  and 
a  shepherd,  or  by  one  only,  and  that  one  the  king. 

Those  who  hold  to  two  lovers  are  well  represented 
by  Ginsburg,  who  divides  the  song  into  five  sections, 
marked  by  certain  recurring  expressions. 

"  I.  The  Shulamite  is  in  the  royal  tent,  expressing 
her  desire  for  the  shepherd,  and  unmoved  by  the  king's 
advances.    Chs.  I.  2-II.  7. 

"  2.  She  relates  to  the  court  ladies  the  cruelty  of  her 
brothers,  which  had  led  to  the  separation  between  her- 
self and  her  beloved.     Chs.  11.  8-III.  5. 

"  3.  The  entry  of  the  royal  train  into  Jerusalem.  The 
shepherd  follows  his  betrothed  into  the  city,  and  pro- 
poses to  rescue  her.  Some  of  her  court  companions 
are  favorably  impressed  by  her  constancy.  Chs.  III.  6- 
V.  I. 

"  4.  The  shepherdess  tells  her  dream,  and  still  further 
engages  the  sympathies  of  her  companions.  The  king's 
flatteries  and  promises  are  unavailing.  Chs.  V.  2-VIII. 
4."    (Quoted  from  art.  "Canticles,"  Smith's  Bib.  Diet.) 

The  lesson  of  the  song,  according  to  this  scheme,  is 
the  power  of  genuine  love  to  resist  strong  temptation. 
Inferentially  it  endorses  the  Scripture  law  of  marriage, 
Gen.  II.  24.  But  does  not  the  scheme  read  a  theory 
into  the  poem  ?  Would  Solomon,  or  another  in  his 
name,  write  such  an  accusation  against  himself  ?  If  so, 
and  interpreted  literally,  the  poem  would  carry  with  it  a 
healthy  tone. 


no  THE    HAGIOGRAPHA. 

Zockler  divides  the  poem  in  the  same  way  with  this 
result :  — 

1.  The  first  meeting  of  the  lovers  at  the  royal  palace 
in  (or  near)  Jerusalem.     Chs.  I.  2-1 1.  7. 

2.  The  first  meeting  of  the  lovers,  as  related  by 
Shulamith,  who  has  returned  home.     Chs.  II.  8-III.  5. 

3.  The  solemn  bringing  of  the  bride,  and  the  mar- 
riage at  Jerusalem.     Chs.  III.  6-V.  i. 

4.  Shulamith's  longing  for  her  home  reawakened. 
Chs.  V.  2-VIII.  4. 

5.  The  return  home,  and  the  triumph  of  the  chaste 
love  of  the  wife  over  the  unchaste  feelings  of  her  hus- 
band.    Ch.  VIII.  S-14. 

Lesson.  The  pure  love  of  a  rustic  maiden  wins  the 
heart  of  a  polygamous  king  to  monogamy. 

This  scheme  seems  to  read  a  theory  between  the 
lines,  yet  the  moral  is  a  good  one.  To  spiritualize  it 
and  represent  Christ  as  purified  by  his  Church  seems 
monstrous,  and  certainly  anti-scriptural. 

The  view  of  Keil,  substantially  that  of  Delitzsch, 
Bleek,  Green,  and  others,  seeks  unity  in  this  way :  — 

1.  The  longings  of  mutual  love.     Chs.  I.  2-II.  7. 

2.  The  lovers  seeking  and  finding  each  other.  Chs. 
II.  8-IIL  5. 

3.  The  nuptials.     Chs.  III.  6-V.  i. 

4.  The  separation  and  reunion.     Chs.  V.  2-VI.  9. 

5.  The  praises  of  the  lovers.     Chs.  VI.  lO-VIII.  4. 

6.  The  confirmation  of  the  covenant  of  love,  leading 
to  inviolable  fidelity.     Ch.  VIII.  5-14. 

If  this  view  can  be  maintained,  then  the  poem  might 
be  deemed  a  lesson  in  wedded  love,  which  in  the  O.  T. 
is  used  as  the  symbol  of  the  love  of  Jehovah  for  his 


CANTICLES.  1 1 1 

people,  and  in  the  New,  the  love  of  Christ  for  his 
Church-  The  \'iew  is  scriptural ;  will  the  poem  bear 
such  an  explanation  of  the  di\isions  ? 

§  4.  Methods  of  Interpretation. —  Ingenuit}*  has 
done  its  best,  and  each  critic  has  surpassed  his  predeces- 
sor by  his  skill,  but  all  the  methods  may  be  reduced  to 
three :   The  Allegorical,  TJu  Literal,  The  Typical. 

1.  The  Allegorical.  — This  \'iew  confutes  itself  by  its 
monstrosities.  The  prime  requirement  is  a  \*i\'id  imag- 
ination. One  may  find  in  it  a  **  histor}'  of  Israel  from 
the  Exodus  until  his  final  redemption,"  with  all  the 
particulars  of  that  histor}',  as  does  the  Targum  on 
Cant.  Another,  in  the  phrase  "  the  kiss  of  his  mouth," 
finds  the  union  of  the  Creator  ^-ith  the  creature. 
Others,  in  the  bride,  the  indiWdual  souls  of  Christians, 
or  the  Church  as  a  collective  body.  Others  allegorize 
the  cheeks  of  the  bride  as  "good  works,"  her  neck, 
"the  love  of  Christ,"  and  her  golden  chains,  "faith," 
etc.  Others  suppose  the  bride  to  represent  the  Ten 
Tribes,  the  bridegroom  Hezekiah,  and  Shulamith's 
brothers  a  part)*  in  the  house  of  Judah.  Others  find 
all  the  details  in  the  life  of  Christ. 

2.  TJie  Literal.  — This  has  much  to  commend  it.  If 
Solomon  is  the  author,  it  would  present  him  as  a  peni- 
tent and  an  endorser  of  the  di\'ine  law  of  marriage.  If 
written  by  another,  its  representation  would  be  to  the 
same  effect.  But  in  this  theor}^  the  bride  must  be  an 
Israelitish  maiden,  not  an  Eg}"ptian  princess. 

3.  The  Typical.  —  If  unity  of  thought  can  be  pre- 
served, this  \-iew  helps  to  account  for  the  introduction 
of  the  poem  into  the  Canon.     Solomon,  though  a  very 


112  THE   HAGIOGRAPHA. 

imperfect  man,  might,  as  husband,  here  ideally  repre- 
sented, be  the  type  of  the  Spotless  Husband  of  the 
Church. 

§  5.   Diflaculties.  —  Many  and  unsolvable. 

LITERATURE. 

Lange. 

"  Sacred  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews  " Lowth,  R. 

"The  Spirit  of  the  Heb.  Poetry" Taylor,  I. 

♦'The  Spirit  of  the  Heb.  Poetry" Herder,  J.  G. 

Translation,  with  notes Noyes,  G.  R. 

Patristic Theodoret. 

*'  Scriptural  Testimony  to  the  Messiah"      ...  Smith,  Pye,  R. 

Art.  "  Canticles,"  in  Kitto Ginsburg,  C.  D. 

A  thesaurus  of  opinions. 

Andover  Rev. '85,  art.  by Clarke,  W.  B. 

Monthly  Inter.  Oct.  '86. 


5.   RUTH. 

Chapters,  4. 

§  1.  Its  Place  in  the  Canon.  —  The  Hebrew  Bible 
locates  this  book  as  the  fifth  in  the  Hagiographa,  but 
the  Sept.  places  it  next  to  Judges.  It  also  places 
Daniel  as  the  fourth  of  the  major  prophets,  and  Lamen- 
tations next  to  Jeremiah.  As  already  said,  the  change 
was  made  not  earlier  than  the  second  century  a.d.,  and 
probably  for  synagogue  services. 

§  2.  Its  Canonicity.  —  This  rests  upon  the  same 
grounds  as  the  other  Hagiographa.  Aside  from  the 
moral  teaching  of  the  book,  the  last  verses,  which  give 
the  genealogy  of  David,  not  elsewhere  so  explicitly 
given,  and  so  important  in  the  genealogy  of  the  Mes- 
siah, make  it  a  necessary  link  in  the  history  of  the 
covenant  people.  Otherwise,  except  as  an  exquisite 
pastoral,  its  claims  would  be  slight.  As  confirming  the 
genealogical  value  of  the  book,  it  is  noticeable  that  the 
Books  of  Samuel  are  silent  as  to  the  descent  of  David 
from  Ruth,  that  the  Chronicles,  though  they  mention 
Boaz  as  one  of  his  ancestors,  say  nothing  of  Ruth, 
(i  Chron.  H.  ii,  12),  and  yet  Matthew  inserts  her  name 
in  his  genealogical  tables,  Matt.  I.  3-6. 

Query.  —  Is  the  genealogy  in  Ruth  and  Matthew 
exact,  or  are  the  chief  persons  in  the  line  of  descent 
the  ones  mentioned.-*  See  ''Book  of  Ruth  in  Hebrew 
and  Chaldee,"  Wright,  C.  H.  H. 


114  THE    HAGIOGRAPHA. 

§  3.  Author  and  Date.  —  The  author  is  unknown. 
One  of  the  Jewish  traditions  gives  the  name  of  Samuel 
as  the  author ;  a  mere  conjecture.  The  title  to  the 
book  of  course  is  merely  the  name  of  the  central  char- 
acter. As  to  date,  unless  the  last  verses  are  an  ap- 
pendix, by  another  hand,  the  book  could  not  have  been 
written  prior  to  the  birth  of  David  and  not  very  likely 
before  the  close  of  his  reign,  when  he  had  secured  his 
position  as  the  typical  king.  To  show  that  it  was  of 
much  later  date,  it  is  affirmed  — 

{a)  That  "the  plucking  off  the  shoe"  (Ch.  IV.  7,  8) 
had  become  obsolete  when  the  book  was  written,  which 
was  doubtless  true  in  the  commercial  changes  of  the 
monarchy,  and  the  author  states  the  fact. 

{b)  That  it  contains  Aramaisms.  True ;  but  they  are 
put  into  the  mouth  of  foreigners,  and  are  not  found  as 
a  rule  in  the  language  of  the  author. 

{c)  That  it  recognizes  the  custom  of  foreign  marriages, 
i.e.  that  they  were  not  strongly  forbidden  until  the  time 
of  Ezra  (Ezra  IX.  i  sq.),  and  therefore  the  book  must  be 
of  exilic  date.  This  argument  is  of  little  weight.  They 
did  not  first  become  unlawful  in  the  times  of  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah.  They  were  contrary  to  the  Mosaic  law, 
Deut.  VII.  1-4;  XXIII.  3-6.  And  the  fact  that 
the  marriage  of  Boaz  with  Ruth  is  not  censured  is 
merely  in  accordance  with  the  usage  of  the  Scriptural 
writers  to  give  the  facts  just  as  they  were.  The  ge- 
nealogy at  the  close  throws  the  only  light  we  have  upon 
the  date  of  the  book.  That  would  imply  a  date  soon 
after  if  not  during  David's  age. 

§  4.    Design  of  the  Book.  —  Critics  differ  — 


RUTH.  115 

{a)  That  it  was  intended  to  enforce  by  illustration  the 
Levirate  Law  of  marriage  according  to  Gen.  XXXVIII. 
8  and  Deut.  XXV.  5  sq.  ;  improbable.  Boaz  was  but 
a  remote  kinsman,  and  his  action  was  not  required  by 
the  Mosaic  Law. 

{b)  That  it  is  a  beautiful  family  picture  enforcing  the 
duty  of  a  man  to  marry  his  kinswoman. 

(c)  That  it  is  "a  book  of  praise  of  true  love  and 
virtue ;  a  book  of  reconciliation  for  those  alien  nations 
who  betake  themselves  under  the  wings  of  the  living 
God.  In  Boaz  and  Ruth,  Israel  and  the  Gentiles  are, 
as  it  were,  personified.  In  order  to  come  under  the 
wings  of  Israel,  nothing  is  needed  but  the  love  and 
faith  of  Ruth."     Lange,  Intro.,  Cassel,  P. 

{d)  The  care  of  Divine  Providence  for  those  who  sin- 
cerely love  God.    The  last  fills  out  the  facts  of  the  story. 

§5.  Contents. —  i.  The  account  concerning  Naomi 
from  her  departure  from  Canaan  into  Moab,  and  her 
return  into  the  land  of  Israel.     Ch.  I. 

2.  The  interview  of  Boaz  and  Ruth,  and  their  mar- 
riage.    Chs.  II.-IV.  12. 

3.  The  birth  of  Obed,  the  son  of  Boaz  by  Ruth,  from 
whom  David  was  descended.     Ch.  IV.  13-18. 

§  6.  Diflaculties.  —  The  chronology  of  the  conclud- 
ing verses. 

The  exact  period  in  which  the  scene  is  laid. 

LITERATURE. 

'♦The  History  of  the  Jewish  Church" Stanley,  A.  P. 

•♦The  Rich  Kinsman" Tyng,  S.  H. 


6.    LAMENTATIONS. 

Chapters,  5. 

§  1.  Title.  —  This  book  is  so  called  from  its  first 
Hebrew  word  H^^S)  signifying  "  how ! "  an  exclama- 
tion of  grief.  The  Rabbins  call  it  nl^pj  dirges,  ele- 
gies, lamentations.  The  Sept.  translates  this  word 
6p7]vol,  and  the  Vulgate  Threfti,  lamentations,  a  word 
fitly  expressing  the  main  thoughts  of  the  book. 

§  2.  Its  Place  in  the  Canon.  —  In  the  Hebrew 
Canon  this  book  is  the  sixth  of  the  Hagiographa. 
The  Sept.  and  the  Vulgate  place  it  immediately  after 
the  prophecies  of  Jeremiah.  Bleek  thinks  that  it  be- 
longed there  in  the  earliest  Hebrew  Canon.  The  enu- 
meration of  the  books  by  Josephus,  contra  Apion,  i,  8, 
Melito,  Eusebius,  4,  26,  and  Jerome,  presupposes  such  a 
connection.     See  Lange,  Intro.,  Nagelsbach,  C.  W.  E. 

§  3.  Author  and  Date.  —  Tradition  and  the  general 
consent  of  critics  agree  that  the  book  was  the  work 
of  the  well-known  prophet  Jeremiah.  They  derive  this 
view  from  the  harmony  between  his  prophecies  and 
these  elegies,  in  spirit,  purport,  analogies  of  language 
(see  Keil),  and  what  the  poet  says  of  himself.  See  Ch. 
III.  52  sq.  and  Jer.  XXXVIII.  6  sq.  Bleek  says  "it 
may  be  assumed  as  certain."  Ewald  deems  it  the  work 
of  Baruch  or  one  of  Jeremiah's  disciples.  Nagelsbach 
surrenders  his  earlier  opinion  that  the  book  was  com- 


LAMENTATIONS.  II7 

posed  by  Jeremiah,  but  thinks  it  was  a  product  of  his 
age.  See  Introd.  His  reasoning  is  acute  and  learned, 
but  not  conclusive.  The  book  itself  is  silent,  nor  is  it 
quoted  in  the  N.  T.  as  Jeremiah's.  Yet  the  analogies 
of  language  are  very  strong  in  behalf  of  the  tradi- 
tion. 

The  tradition  probably  rests  upon  the  superscription 
of  the  Sept.,  which  reads  thus  :  **  And  it  came  to  pass 
after  Israel  had  been  carried  away  captive,  and  Jeru- 
salem was  become  desolate,  that  Jeremiah  sat  weeping, 
and  lamented  with  this  lamentation  over  Jerusalem, 
and  said."  Whether  this  superscription  ever  belonged 
to  the  Hebrew  text  or  not,  its  testimony  is  worthy  of 
consideration. 

As  to  Date.  —  Bleek  fixes  it  very  minutely.  He  says, 
"  I  believe  that  we  may  assume  with  great  probability 
that  the  songs  were  composed  ...  in  the  interval 
between  the  surrender  of  the  city  and  its  destruction, 
during  which  time  Jeremiah  remained  in  Jerusalem." 
Jer.  XXXIX.  14.  We  simply  do  not  know.  We  need 
not  take  for  granted  that  all  these  elegies  were  com- 
posed at  the  same  time.  There  is  a  very  general,  but 
not  a  very  close,  unity  between  them,  and  this  may  arise 
from  the  fact  that  they  were  not  all  composed  at  the 
same  time. 

§  4.  Subject.  —  Lamentations  over  the  destruction 
of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans.  The  opin- 
ion that  refers  them  to  the  death  of  Josiah,  grounded 
on  the  statement  in  2  Chron.  XXXV.  25,  is  not  well 
supported,  though  adopted  by  Joscphus,  Ant.  10,  5,  i, 
and  others.     The  contents  of  these  elegies  are  opposed 


Il8  THE    HAGIOGRAPHA. 

to  it.  As  Bleek  says  :  "  The  songs  spoken  of  by  him  '* 
{i.e.  the  Chronicler)  "were  some  of  Jeremiah's,  which 
like  so  many  of  the  works  quoted  in  the  Chronicles, 
were  not  admitted  into  the  Canon,  and  have  therefore 
been  lost." 

§  5.  Contents.  —  Summarily,  the  first  two  chapters 
and  the  last  two  record  the  misery  which  had  befallen 
Judah  and  Jerusalem,  and  the  middle  one  refers  to  the 
author's  personal  sufferings. 

§  6.  Structure.  —  Uniquely  artistic.  In  the  He- 
brew text,  Chs.  I.,  II.,  and  IV.  contain  22  verses  each, 
the  number  of  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet.  Ch. 
III.  has  66  verses,  but  so  arranged  that  the  initial  letter 
is  three  times  repeated,  so  as  to  give  substantially  22 
verses.  Ch.  V.  contains  22  verses,  but  no  alphabetical 
order. 

§  7.  The  Relation  of  the  Book  to  the  Prophecies 
of  Jeremiah.  —  It  is  evidently  their  supplement.  The 
prophecies  point  to  the  final  catastrophe  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem.  The  Lamentations  place  us  in  the 
very  scene  of  the  overthrow.  **  All  feeling  of  exultation, 
in  which,  as  a  mere  prophet  of  evil,  he  might  have  in- 
dulged at  the  fulfilment  of  his  forebodings,  was  swal- 
lowed up  in  deep,  overwhelming  sorrow."  Smith's  Bib. 
Diet.,  Plumptre,  E.  H.  The  book  is  annually  read  by 
the  Jews  in  commemoration  of  the  burning  of  the  Tem- 
ple. Every  Friday  afternoon  passages  of  it  are  repeated 
at  Jerusalem's  well-known  Wailing-Place. 


LAMENTATIONS.  II9 


LITERATURE. 

For  critical  purposes,  see  Nagelsbach,  C.  W.  E.  Very  fiill.  **  Po- 
etical Books,"  Ewald,  H.  Translation,  Noyes,  G.  R.  *'  History  of 
the  Jews,"  vol.  i,  Milman,  H.  H.   Kitto,  art.  by  Deutsch,  Emanuel. 


7.   ECCLESIASTES. 

Chapters,  13. 

§  1.  Title.  —  This  book,  the  seventh  of  the  Hagio- 
grapha,  takes  its  title  from  the  Sept.  translation  of  the 
second  word  in  the  Hebrew  text,  npHp  —  Koheleth. 
The  exact  meaning  of  the  word  as  here  used  is  very- 
doubtful,  and  out  of  the  various  suppositions  concerning 
its  meaning  have  been  formed  various  hypotheses  con- 
cerning the  aim  of  the  book.  The  verb  means  ''  to  assem- 
ble "  or  "to  gather  together"  a  public  assembly,  and  the 
participle  feminine,  as  here,  would  seem  to  mean  "a  fe- 
male gatherer  of  an  assembly  to  God  "  (Ency.  Brit.) ;  "  the 
feminine  arising  from  the  fact  that  in  Ch.  VII.  27,  Solo- 
mon is  depicted  as  personified  Wisdom,  who  appears 
herself  in  Prov.  I.  20  and  VIII.  1-4."  The  symbolical 
meaning  of  the  word  would  then  be,  "  One  gathering 
the  people  to  hold  communion  with  God,"  in  harmony 
with  Solomon's  purpose  as  recorded  in  i  Kings  VIII. 
This  theory  is  suggestive,  but  seems  a  little  forced.  I 
give  it  as  the  latest  view.  Plumptre  says  the  word 
means  "debater,"  out  of  which  comes  the  theory  of  a 
colloquy.  Others,  and  most  from  the  time  of  Jerome 
(see  Bleek),  are  satisfied  with  the  term  "preacher," 
meaning,  according  to  the  full  title,  "  The  royal 
preacher,"  Solomon.  "  The  words  of  the  preacher, 
the  son  of  David,  king  in  Jerusalem."  See  Lange, 
Zockler,  O. ;  "Job  and  Solomon,"  Cheyne,  T.  K., 
p.   298. 


ECCLESIASTES.  121 

§  2.  Author  and  Date.  —  The  title  does  not  affirm 
explicitly  that  Solomon  was  the  author  of  the  book,  nor 
is  there  such  an  affirmation  in  the  book  itself.  The  de- 
cision must  be  formed  by  the  arguments  from  tradition 
and  internal  probabilities.  It  has  been  assigned  to 
Isaiah,  Kimchi,  Hezekiah,  Talmudical  writers,  to  some 
unknown  writer  after  the  Babylonian  Captivity,  and  to 
some  unknown  writer  in  the  time  of  Antiochus  Epiph- 
anes. 

For  Solomon  are,  — 

{a)  The  general  tradition  of  the  Jews  and  the  Chris- 
tian Church.     Zockler,  O.,  and  Plumptre,  E.  H. 

(p)  That  the  references  to  Koheleth  in  I.  2,  12,  and 
XII.  9,  10,  harmonize  with  the  superscription  interpreted 
as  indicating  Solomonic  authorship. 

if)  That  the  knowledge  of  the  author  in  its  universal- 
ity, and  his  experiences  as  related  in  the  book,  better  fit 
the  Solomonic  age  than  any  later  period. 

{d)  That  the  numerous  Aramaisms,  which  are  the 
strong  point  made  by  those  who  deny  Solomonic  author- 
ship, are  exaggerated  as  to  number,  and  can  be  accounted 
for  from  the  extent  of  his  commercial  relations  and  from 
his  acquaintance  with  the  foreign  women  in  his  harem 
making  him  familiar  with  Aramaic. 

{e)  That  its  introduction  into  the  Canon  and  the  rejec- 
tion of  the  apocryphal  pseudonymous  book,  **  Wisdom  of 
Solomon,"  presuppose  the  meaning  of  the  superscription 
to  have  been  that  Solomon  was  its  author. 

Agamst,  — 

{a)  That  the  words,  *'  I,  the  preacher,  was  king  over 
Israel"  (Ch.  I.  12),  are  an  historical  statement,  implying 
that  he  was  when  writing  not  king,  and  is   merely  im- 


122  THE   HAGIOGRAPHA. 

personated  by  the  author  as  one  already  dead.  But  this 
is  pressing  the  Hebrew  preterite  too  far. 

{b)  That  the  name  for  the  Deity  is  Elohim  through- 
out the  book,  and  according  to  the  Newer  Criticism  im- 
plies a  late  date.  Moreover,  that  it  is  totally  unlike  the 
Proverbs  of  Solomon,  where  the  name  Jehovah  predomi- 
nates. A  son  of  David,  it  is  said,  would  use  the  theo- 
cratic name.  To  this  it  is  replied,  that  the  preacher  is 
dealing  with  man  universal,  **  all  the  living  who  walk  un- 
der the  sun,"  that  there  is  no  trace  of  Judaism  in  the 
book,  and  that  therefore  there  was  no  occasion  for  intro- 
ducing the  theocratic  name. 

{c)  That  Solomon,  the  second  king  of  the  dynasty, 
would  hardly  speak  of  *'  all  that  had  been  before  him  in 
Jerusalem,"  Ch.  I.  i6.  The  reply  would  be,  why  not } 
It  is  a  matter  of  taste ;  perhaps  a  specimen  of  Oriental 
pride.  That  the  word  "all"  refers  to  kings,  as  though 
there  were  many  predecessors,  is  not  a  necessity.  It 
may  refer  simply  to  the  wealth  and  possessions  of  former 
times. 

{d)  That  the  popular  misery  and  oppression  described 
in  the  book  do  not  belong  to  his  age,  or  if  so,  he  would 
not  confess  it.  It  might  be  replied  that  the  revolt  under 
Rehoboam  proved  it  to  have  been  so,  and  as  to  his  con- 
fession of  his  own  guilt  in  the  matter,  he  states  facts 
and  lets  the  reader  draw  his  own  inference.  It  is 
singular  that  by  some  his  authorship  is  objected  to 
because  he  makes  no  public  confession  of  his  sins,  and 
by  others,  that  as  a  king  he  would  not  disgrace  himself 
in  such  a  way. 

{e)  That  the  book  presents  many  parallelisms  to 
Malachi,  i.e.  as    interlocutory,  and   therefore  must  be- 


ECCLESIASTES.  12$ 

long  to  that  age.     But  what  is  the  proof?     Which  is 
the  imitator  ? 

(/)  That  the  Aramaisms  are  so  numerous  that  they 
cannot  be  accounted  for  except  on  the  ground  of  a  later 
age  than  the  time  of  Solomon.  The  author,  therefore, 
is  simply  an  impersonator  of  Solomon.  Modern  criti- 
cism leans  strongly  this  way.  Delitzsch  finds  nearly  a 
hundred  words  or  phrases  which  are  peculiar  to  post- 
exilian  literature,  and  says  that  "  if  the  Book  of  Kohe- 
leth  be  of  old  Solomonic  origin,  then  there  is  no 
history  of  the  Hebrew  language."  Ginsburg  says  that 
"we  could  as  easily  believe  that  Chaucer  is  the  author 
of  Rasselas,  as  that  Solomon  wrote  Koheleth."  Ewald 
takes  substantially  the  same  view.  Yet  Pusey,  "  Lectures 
on  Daniel  the  Prophet,"  pp.  327  sq.,  maintains  that  there 
are  no  words  in  the  book  which  characterize  it  as  of  a 
later  age  than  Solomon's.  So,  also,  Tayler  Lewis,  in 
Lange.  So  *'  The  Authorship  of  Ecclesiastes,"  by 
Johnston,  David.  So  Dean  Milman.  It  must  be 
confessed,  however,  that  the  weight  of  scholarship  at 
the  present  time  favors  the  late  date  of  the  book. 

§  3.  The  Design  of  the  Book.  —  Oehler  puts  it 
pithily  thus,  "In  it  the  contrast  between  the  Divine 
perfection  and  the  vanity  of  the  world  is  represented  as 
irreconcilable,  the  latter  as  an  undeniable  experience, 
the  former  as  a  religious  postulate."  And  Bleek  says, 
"  It  is  both  moving  and  elevating  to  see  how  this  latter 
belief  is  held  fast  to  amid  every  doubt,  and  how  the 
author  everywhere  recurs  to  it."  The  author,  be  he 
Solomon  or  the  impersonator  of  Solomon,  puts  before 
us  the  royal  preacher  in  his  old  age,  soliloquizing  on  his 


124  THE   HAGIOGRAPHA. 

past  experiences,  and  revealing  the  fact  that  all  that  the 
world  can  bestow  is  unsatisfactory,  that  to  obey  God  is 
the  simimiim  bonum.  The  experiences  are  to  be  inter- 
preted, not  as  Divine  revelations,  but  as  human  struggles 
in  the  search  for  the  highest  good. 

§  4.  General  Analysis.  —  No  two  commentators 
agree.    This  one  by  Sebastian  Schmidt  commends  itself. 

Three  Parts.  I.  Treatise  concerning  the  highest 
good :  {a)  Negative,  showing  wherein  it  does  not  con- 
sist, Chs.  I.-III.  II  ;  {b)  Positive,  wherein  it  is  to  be 
placed,  Ch.  III.  12-14. 

II.  Six  instances  in  which  man  may  be  prevented 
from  obtaining  the  highest  good,  Chs.  III.  15-IV.  16. 

III.  Guide  to  the  true  worship  of  God,  and  the  way 
to  happiness,  contained  in  fourteen  rules  of  conduct, 
IV.    17-XII.   7;   together  with   a   summary,  Ch.  XII. 

8-14. 

See  more  in  Introduction  to  Lange,  Zockler,  O. 

LITERATURE. 

Camb.  Bib.  for  Schools Plump tre,  E.  H. 

Rich  in  its  philosophy. 

Ecclesiastes,  Ency.  Brit.   ........     Ginsburg,  C.  D. 

Rich  in  literature. 

Ecclesiastes,  Ency Kitto,  John. 

Lange Zockler,  O. 

"  The  Royal  Preacher " Hamilton,  James. 

Metrical  Version  of  Koheleth,  Lange    ....  Lewis,  Tayler. 

Commentary Stuart,  Moses. 

Minute. 


8.   ESTHER. 

Chapters,  10. 

§  1.  Title  and  Canonicity.  —  This  book,  the  eighth 
of  the  Hagiographa,  is  so  named  from  its  heroine.  It 
is  one  of  the  so-called  Megilloth  (Rolls),  read  at  the 
Feast  of  Purim,  because  it  gives  the  origin  of  that 
feast.  The  later  Jews  attach  special  value  to  the  book, 
and  sometimes  place  it  by  the  side  of  the  Torah,  there- 
by giving  it  the  place  of  honor.  Some  of  them  say 
(Maimonides)  that  in  the  time  of  the  Messiah  all  the 
prophets  and  the  Hagiographa  will  pass  away  except 
the  Torah,  the  Oral  Law,  and  the  Roll  of  Esther 
(Bleek).  The  earlier  Jews,  according  to  the  Jerusalem 
Talmud,  did  not  so  esteem  it,  and  ridiculed  the  found- 
ing a  feast  day  upon  it.  See  Lange,  Schults,  Fr.  W. 
In  the  early  Christian  Church  it  was  likewise  opposed, 
on  the  ground  that  the  name  of  God  is  not  found  in  it, 
and  that  it  breathes  a  spirit  of  hatred  hostile  to  the 
teachings  of  the  Scriptures  generally.  The  gravest  of 
these  difficulties  and  others  of  a  kindred  character  are 
strongly  stated  by  Bleek,  Intro.,  §§  173-4.  See  on  the 
other  side,  Excursuses,  E.  H.  K.,  in  "  Book  of  Esther," 
edited  by  Haley,  J.  W.,  and  the  reply  of  Keil,  Intro. 
Professor  Stuart  says,  "The  fact  that  the  Feast  of 
Purim  has  come  down  to  us  from  time  almost  immemo- 
rial proves  as  certainly  that  the  main  events  related  in 
the  Book  of  Esther  happened,  as   the  Declaration  of 


126  THE   HAGIOGRAPHA. 

Independence  and  the  celebration  of  Fourth  of  July  prove 
that  we  separated  from  Great  Britain  and  became  an 
independent  nation,"  Old  Testament,  p.  357,  Stuart,  M. 
Its  reception  into  the  Canon  is  accredited  by  most  of 
the  canonical  tables  (Melito's  an  exception),  and  the 
early  and  late  celebration  of  the  Feast  of  Purim  seems 
to  attest  its  integrity  and  historicity.  See  Excursus  on 
"The  Liturgical  Use  of  the  Book  of  Esther,"  Lange. 
This  feast  has  been  commemorated  at  least  from  the 
time  of  the  writer  of  the  second  Book  of  Maccabees, 
Ch.  XV.  36.  See  Josephus,  Antiq.  11,  6,  13.  The 
Feast  of  Purim  is  the  strongest  external  evidence  we 
have  for  the  historical  character  of  the  book,  and  gives 
perhaps  a  sufficient  ground  for  interpreting  it  from  that 
point  of  view.  The  poetic  interpretation  reduces  it  to 
a  strange  fictitious  story. 

§  2.  Author  and  Date.  —  As  to  these,  there  is  no 
desirable  certainty.  The  common  view  is  that  it  is  the 
work  of  Mordecai,  thus  harmonizing  with  tradition.  It 
seems  to  have  been  written  by  an  eye-witness,  and 
some  of  the  material  seemingly  requires  such  a  source. 
The  Talmud  assigns  it  to  the  men  of  the  Great  Syna- 
gogue.    Others  ascribe  it  to  Ezra.     No  one  knows. 

As  to  date,  Bleek  places  it  later  than  the  Persian  age, 
but  whether  written  in  Palestine  or  in  Persia  is  uncer- 
tain. Keil  thinks  the  writer  contemporary  with  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah.  Rawlinson  puts  the  time  of  its  com- 
position 444-434  B.C.  In  the  book  of  Haley,  already 
referred  to,  the  dates  of  the  book  are  summarily  these : 
"  Xerxes  (the  Ahasuerus  of  Esther)  ascends  the  throne 
485  B.C. ;  Esther  becomes   his   queen  478  B.C. ;   when 


ESTHER. 


127 


she  was  presumably  twenty,  and  Mordecai  forty  years 
of  age.  Hence  the  events  of  Esther  occurred  about 
B.C.  482-470." 

§  3.  Design  of  the  Book.  —  This  is  to  describe  the 
historical  occasion  and  origin  of  the  Feast  of  Purim. 
The  moral  teaching  of  the  book  is  God's  providential 
care  over  his  dispersed  people.  The  absence  of  the 
name  of  God  in  the  book  is  not  easily  accounted  for. 
Haley's  Excursus  "  O  "  gives  an  ingenious  but  not  sat- 
isfactory explanation.  My  own  opinion  is  that  inas- 
much as  the  whole  book  is  permeated  with  the  wonder- 
ful intervention  of  God's  care  for  His  people,  the  name 
was  designed  to  be  felt  rather  than  mentioned,  and 
so  omitted  purposely.  But  this  view  does  not  satisfy 
the  craving  of  the  general  reader. 

§  4.  General  Analysis.  —  The  book  may  be  divided 
into  two  parts  :  — 

Part  I.  The  elevation  of  Esther  to  be  queen,  and 
the  discovery  of  the  plot  against  the  king's  life.     Chs. 

i.-n. 

Part  2.  The  promotion  of  Haman,  and  the  frustra- 
tion of  his  plans  against  the  Jews.     Chs.  HI.-X. 

Note.  —  In  the  Hebrew  text  the  book  ends  with  Ch. 
X.  3.  The  Sept.  adds  ten  verses,  the  Vulgate  six 
chapters.  These  are  deemed  apocryphal,  though  ac- 
cepted by  the  Greek  and  Roman  churches.  See  Ex- 
cursus "  P,"  Haley,  for  translation.  See  art.  "  Esther," 
Smith's  Bib.  Die,  and  Lange,  Intro.,  p.  25. 

§  5.  Chief  Difficulties  in  the  Book. —  i.  Settling  the 
question  as  to  the  king  during  whose  reign  the  events 


128  THE   HAGIOGRAPHA. 

occurred.     The  prevalent   opinion   now  is  that  it  was 
the  renowned  Xerxes.     See  Haley's  Intro. 

2.  The  Persian  words  and  names  in  the  book  as 
affecting  authorship  and  date.  See  Haley,  Excursus 
"A,"  and  Introductions. 

3.  The  adjustment  of  the  history  of  the  Jews  with 
the  events  described  in  the  book.  See  Haley,  Excur- 
sus ''  F,"  "  Hist,  of  the  Jews,"  Milman,  H.  H.,  ''  Hist, 
of  Israel,"  Ewald,  H. 

4.  The  Unwritten  Name,  Haley,  Excursus  "P." 

LITERATURE. 

"The  Book  of  Esther" Haley,  J.  W. 

"  Hist,  of  the  Jews,"  vol.  i Milman,  H.  H. 

"  Lectures  Expository  and  Practical  on  the  Book 

of  Esther"      ...........  Davidson,  A.  B. 

Bible  Commentary ,  Rawlinson,  G. 


g.   DANIEL. 

Chapters,  12. 

§  1.  Title.  — This  book,  the  ninth  of  the  Hagio- 
grapha,  is  so  named  from  the  prophet  whose  life  and 
prophecies  it  records.  The  name  signifies  "  God  is  my 
judge,"  or  *'God  is  judging." 

§  2.  Canonicity  of  the  Book.  —  The  recognition  of 
the  book  by  the  Sept.  translators,  the  Jewish  synagogue, 
and  the  Christian  Church  as  sacred  Scripture  is  unques- 
tioned, but  its  right  to  a  place  there  with  such  authority 
as  is  given  to  the  prophets,  such  as  Ezekiel  and  Isaiah, 
is  denied. 

(a)  Because  in  the  Hebrew  Text  it  is  placed  among 
the  Hagiographa,  a  class  of  non-prophetical  books.  In 
the  Sept.  and  the  catalogues  of  the  early  Church  it  takes 
it  place  among  the  Major  Prophets.  Some  of  the  rea- 
sons for  its  place  in  the  Hagiographa  are  :  — 

(a)  That  Daniel  was  a  prophet  of  a  lower  grade  than 
Haggai  and  Zechariah.  He  saw  visions ;  they  did  not. 
But  Daniel,  according  to  the  book,  was  no  more  a  vision- 
ary prophet  than  Ezekiel  or  Zechariah. 

(^)  That  Daniel  was  not  so  much  a  prophet  as  an 
apocalyptic  seer,  Bib.  Com.  A  distinction  without  a 
difference  to  a  believer  in  revelation. 

(7)  That  Daniel  was  not  officially  a  prophet,  as  the 
others  were.     There  is  no  evidence  of  such  a  distinction 


I30  THE   HAGIOGRAPHA. 

in  the  arrangement  of  the  books  of  the  Canon.  The 
other  books  of  the  Hagiographa  are  not  the  works  of 
prophets  per  se  ;  but  if  there  is  such  a  fact  as  prophecy 
minute  and  full,  the  Book  of  Daniel  contains  it.  See 
Pusey's  "Daniel  the  Prophet,"  pp.  351  sqq. 

(8)  I.  "The  Book  of  Daniel  stands  between  Esther 
and  Ezra,  because  Esther,  for  a  sufficient  reason,  is  the 
last  of  the  Megilloth  (festival  volumes),  and  because  the 
principal  contents  of  Daniel  belong  to  the  time  before 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah."  —  Herzog,  Delitzsch.  Chron- 
ological. 

II.  The  manifest  division  of  the  book  into  history 
and  prophecy,  composed  or  written  in  Aramaic  and 
Hebrew,  fits  it  to  precede  Ezra,  the  only  other  book 
in  which  the  Aramaic  and  Hebrew  are  found  (except 
Jeremiah).     Linguistic. 

(e)  The  subject-matter  of  the  book  allies  itself  with  the 
general  tone  and  spirit  of  the  Hagiographa.  "  Prayer 
and  prophecy  link  it  to  the  softer,  more  spiritual  mem- 
bers of  the  Kethubim;  history  and  narrative  to  the 
sterner,  more  prosaic  records  of  the  Jewish  Annals." 
Bib.  Com.,  Intro. 

Note.  —  The  catalogues  of  the  early  Church  follow 
the  Sept.,  and  place  Daniel  among  the  Major  Prophets. 
It  is  doubted  by  many  whether  the  earliest  Hebrew 
Canon  placed  Daniel  among  the  Hagiographa.  See 
"Daniel,  Critical  History  and  Defence  of,  etc."  pp. 
424  sqq.  Stuart,  M. 

(b)  Because  the  Son  of  Sirach  in  Eccles.,  Ch.  XLIX., 
omits  to  mention  his  name  among  the  distinguished 
worthies  and  prophets  prior  to  his  day.  It  is  an  argu- 
ment e  silentioy  which  is  always  treacherous.     There  is 


DANIEL.  131 

no  mention  of  Ezra  or  Mordecai,  yet  no  one  questions 
the  literary  work  of  Ezra.  The  names  to  which  the 
Son  of  Sirach  refers  follow  no  chronological  order,  and 
the  most  that  can  be  said  of  the  omissions,  is,  that  he 
did  not  know  of  any  Daniel,  or  that  Daniel  did  not 
stand  in  his  canon  among  the  prophets,  as  he  does  not 
in  the  Hebrew  Text.  But  the  latter  fact  harmonizes 
with  the  canonicity  of  the  book. 

(c)  Because  if  the  Book  of  Daniel  were  in  existence 
in  the  time  of  Cyrus,  its  influence  would  have  been 
apparent  in  the  post-exilic  writers,  Haggai,  Zechariah 
(I.-VIIL),  and  Malachi.  But  critics  have  affirmed  that 
such  influence  is  to  be  seen,  and  that  Zechariah  espe- 
cially drew  unmistakably  from  Daniel.  Moreover,  the 
analogy  between  the  prayer  of  Daniel  (Ch.  IX.  3-10), 
and  the  prayer  of  Ezra  (Ch.  IX.),  and  Nehemiah  (Ch. 
X.),  indicates  strongly  the  dependence  of  these  writers 
upon  Daniel,  and  so  favors  the  early  date  claimed  for 
his  book. 

Note.  —  The  internal  reasons  assigned  for  a  Macca- 
bean  date  of  the  book  and  a  pseudographic  authorship 
are  drawn  from  philological  and  historical  difficulties, 
together  with  the  assumption  of  the  impossibility  of 
such  minute  prophecies  and  stupendous  miracles  as 
are  therein  recorded.     For  replies,  see  Commentaries. 

§  3.  Unity  of  the  Book.  —  Whoever  was  the  author, 
critics  are  now  substantially  agreed  that  the  book  is  the 
product  of  one  mind,  though  the  matter  may  have  been 
arranged  by  a  compiler.  Bleek  says,  "This  may  be 
assumed  as  certain"  (§  258).  Cheyne  says  :  "  Nor,  in 
spite  of  all  the  assertions  of  controversial  writers  on 


132  THE    HAGIOGRAPHA. 

both  sides,  can  any  argument  be  based  on  the  fact 
(strange  as  it  seems)  that  the  Book  of  Daniel  is  written 
in  two  languages  or  dialects."  "Daniel,"  Encyc.  Brit. 
"The  similarity  of  style  binds  together  the  Chaldean 
and  Hebrew  portions  not  only  in  themselves  but  with 
each  other."     De  Wette,  Pusey,  E.  B. 

The  chief  objections  to  the  unity  of  the  book  are  — 

The  use  of  the  Aramaic  and  Hebrew  languages  or 
dialects,  and  the  use  of  the  third  person  for  Daniel  in 
the  first  seven  chapters,  while  the  first  person  is  em- 
ployed in  the  remaining  five. 

I.  As  to  languages,  the  facts  are  these  :  the  introduc- 
tion, Chs.  I.,  II.  4a  are  in  Hebrew ;  Chs.  II.  4b-VII. 
are  in  Aramaic ;  the  remaining  chapters  are  in  Hebrew. 
For  this  peculiarity  several  reasons  are  assigned. 

(a)  That  the  original  Hebrew  of  the  Aramaic  portion 
was  lost,  and  its  place  supplied  by  the  Aramaic  trans- 
lator. Lenormant,  F.,  Encyc.  Brit.,  Cheyne,  T.  K. 
Possible. 

(d)  That  Daniel  wrote  the  book  at  different  periods  of 
his  life ;  that  the  whole  was  written  originally  in  Ara- 
maic, and  when  Daniel  had  recovered  his  mother  tongue, 
which  he  had  lost  in  Babylon,  he  translated  portions  of 
the  book  into  Hebrew.  Possible,  but  not  probable. 
Zockler,  O. 

(c)  That  the  Aramaic  portions  are  taken  from  the 
Babylonian  records.     Possible.     Lange,  Strong,  J. 

(d)  The  first  part  is  in  Aramaic  as  the  language  of 
the  world-power  and  its  development ;  the  second  in 
Hebrew  as  treating  of  the  kingdom  of  God  and  its 
development,  in  the  language  of  the  people  of  God. 
Keil.     Suggestive. 


DANIEL.  133 

(e)  Whatever  the  reason,  and  whatever  the  criticism 
upon  the  special  characteristics  of  the  Hebrew  and  the 
Aramaic  in  Daniel,  the  combination  of  the  two  favors 
the  early  authorship  of  the  book  in  opposition  to  the 
Maccabean  theory.  Daniel  was  better  qualified  to  write 
in  both  languages  than  a  Maccabee.  At  any  rate,  a 
Maccabee  would  be  inclined  to  write  in  Aramean  alone, 
if  his  object  was  the  instruction  of  the  people.  See 
Pusey,  E.  B. 

2.  The  variation  in  the  use  of  the  first  and  third 
person,  the  latter  when  spoken  of  historically,  the 
former  when  he  appears  personally,  is  not  without  its 
analogy  in  Is.  VII.  3,  and  XX.  2  and  XXXVI.- 
XXXIX.,  and  in  the  seventh  chapter  there  seems  to  be 
a  preparation  for  the  change.  In  the  first  two  verses 
Daniel  is  spoken  of  in  the  third  person,  and  the  rest  of 
the  chapter  takes  the  personal  form.  "Daniel,  Book 
of,"  Smith's  Bib.  Diet.,  Westcott,  B.  F.,  says:  ''The 
cause  of  the  difference  is  commonly  supposed  to  lie  in 
the  nature  of  the  case.  The  prophet  narrates  symbolic 
and  representative  events  historically,  for  the  event  is 
its  own  witness ;  but  revelations  and  visions  need  the 
personal  attestation  of  those  to  whom  they  were  com- 
municated "  {idem,  §  5).  He  thinks,  however,  and  with 
him  **  Bible  Com."  agrees,  that  the  Book  of  Daniel  as  it 
now  stands,  though  its  material  is  essentially  Daniel's, 
was  brought  into  its  present  shape  by  a  reviser,  with  a 
prefixed  introduction.  The  theory  is  a  relief,  but  it  is 
a  theory. 

§  4.  Author  of  the  Book.  —  Was  he  the  Daniel  of 
the  Captivity,   or  a   pseudo-Daniel  of   the   Maccabean 


134  THE   HAGIOGRAPHA. 

period  ?  The  testimony  in  favor  of  the  former  view  is 
as  follows :  — 

{a)  The  testimony  of  the  book  itself. 

{b)  The  testimony  of  Ezekiel  goes  so  far  at  least  as 
to  declare  the  reality  of  a  well-known  righteous  and 
wise  man  by  the  name  of  Daniel  at  the  time  of  his 
prophesying.    Ch.  XIV.  14,  18,  20  and  Ch.  XXVIII.  3. 

{c)  The  testimony  of  the  first  Book  of  Maccabees. 
I  Mac.  I.  54 ;  cf.  Dan.  X.  27  and  XL  29  sq. ;  i  Mac. 
II.  59,  60;  cf.  Dan.  III.  and  VL 

{d)  The  testimony  of  the  Book  of  Baruch,  described, 
though  apocryphal,  as  "a  cento  of  Jeremiah,  Daniel, 
Isaiah,  Nehemiah,  and  Deuteronomy."  Ewald  dates  the 
book  400  B.C.     See  Baruch,  II.,  III. ;  cf.  Dan.  X. 

{e)  The  testimony  of  Josephus,  who  says,  "  Let  those 
who  read  Daniel's  prophecies  marvel  at  one  so  highly 
honored."  He  is  "one  of  the  greatest  of  the  prophets," 
etc.  See  "Wars  of  the  Jews,"  6,  2,  i ;  also  Antiq.  11, 
8,  5.     He  evidently  states  the  current  opinion. 

(/)  The  testimony  of  the  New  Testament  inciden- 
tally acknowledges  each  special  characteristic  of  the 
book :  miracles  (Heb.  XL  33),  its  predictions  (Matt. 
XXIV.  15),  and  its  doctrine  of  angels  (Luke  I.  19-26). 
The  Revelation  everywhere  teems  with  the  imagery  of 
Daniel.  See  also  Matt.  XXVI.  64.  Sharp  criticism 
may  weaken  some  of  this  testimony,  but  considered  as 
a  whole  it  is  very  strong. 

§  6.  Analysis  of  the  Book.  —  Auberlen  divides  it 
into  three  parts,  according  to  contents,  as  follows  :  — 

1.  General  Introduction.     Ch.  I. 

2.  A  general  view  of  the  progressive  history  of  the 


DANIEL.  135 

powers  of  the  world,  and  of  the  principles  of  the  Divine 
government  as  seen  in  events  in  the  life  of  Daniel.  Chs. 
II.-VII. 

3.  The  fortunes  of  the  people  of  God  minutely  detailed 
as  typical  of  the  fortunes  of  the  Church  in  all  ages.  Chs. 
VIII.-XII. 

LITERATURE. 

"  The  Day-year  Theory  of  Prophecy  "...  Stuart,  M. 
Also,  — 

Daniel,  Dissertation  i Cowles,  H. 

Daniel Stuart,  M. 

Daniel Tregelles,  S.  P. 

Daniel Keil,  C.  F. 

Lectures  on  the  Prophet  Daniel Pusey,  E.  B. 

Lange .  Zockler,  O. 

Daniel Bible  Com. 

Daniel Schaff-Herzog. 

Introd Bleek,  J. 

Daniel Encyc.  Brit. 

"  The  Prophet  Daniel  and  the  Revelation  of 

John" Auberlen. 

"  Authenticity  of  Daniel  " Hengstenberg,  E.  W. 

'*  Apoc.  of  O.  T." Williams,  Rowland. 

**  Remarks  on  Daniel" Chase,  Ira. 

Daniel Barnes,  A. 

Translation Ewald,  H. 

Translation Noyes,  G.  R. 

Post-millenarian  and   Pre-millenarian  litera- 
ture, generally. 


10.    EZRA. 

Chapters,  10. 

The  Newer  Criticism  and  much  conservative  criticism 
reckon  this  book  as  a  part  of  a  whole,  including  with  it 
Nehemiah  and  the  Chronicles,  and  discuss  authorship 
and  date  from  that  point  of  view,  but  for  our  purposes 
we  shall  consider  them  as  separate  books. 

§  1.  Title.  —  This  tenth  book  of  the  Hagiographa  is 
so  named  from  the  prominent  position  occupied  by  Ezra 
in  the  book,  and  also,  perhaps,  as  an  index  of  authorship. 
The  word  signifies  "help."  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  are 
called  Esdras  and  Nehemiah  by  the  Sept.,  and  first 
and  second  Esdras  by  the  Vulgate.  Ezra  and  Nehe- 
miah (Bleek)  are  reckoned  as  one  book  of  two  parts  by 
the  Jews,  Josephus,  the  Talmud,  Origen,  and  Jerome. 
Early  Jewish  and  Christian  testimony  thus  agree.  The 
Book  of  Nehemiah,  however,  has  its  own  title,  and 
according  to  the  text  is  thus  distinguished  from  the 
Book  of  Ezra. 

§  2.  Author.  —  Tradition  assigns  the  book  to  Ezra 
the  Scribe.  Modern  criticism  admits  this  with  refer- 
ence to  a  portion  of  the  book,  but  it  deems  the  whole 
a  compilation  by  some  unknown  but  contemporane- 
ous author.  The  book  is  divided  into  two  distinct 
parts.     Chs.   I.-VI.  treat  of  the  Return  of  the  Exiles 


EZRA.  137 

from  the  Babylonian  Captivity,  and  events  which  took 
place  during  a  period  of  twenty-three  years,  538-516 
B.C.  This  period  is  that  when  Joshua  was  high  priest, 
Zerubbabel  governor,  and  Zechariah  and  Haggai  proph- 
ets. But  from  the  seventh  chapter  to  the  close  of  the 
book  the  history  relates  events  which  took  place  in  the 
short  period  of  twelve  months,  i.e.  from  458  B.C.  (April)  to 
457  B.C.  (April).  There  is,  therefore,  a  gap  of  fifty-seven 
years  between  the  first  and  second  divisions ;  so  that 
the  writer  of  the  last  portion  could  hardly  have  been  an 
eye-witness  of  the  scenes  of  the  first  portion.  Yet  Ezra 
like  any  other  historian  could  have  compiled  the  his- 
torical material  at  hand,  and  put  his  seal  of  authorship 
upon  it.  See  Bible  Com.,  Introd.,  Rawlinson,  G.  ; 
Lectures,  Pusey,  E.  B.,  pp.  335  sq. 

As  to  the  second  portion,  the  chief  ground  against 
Ezraic  authorship  is  the  varying  use  of  the  first  and 
third  person.  The  answer  to  this  is  the  same  as  in 
the  parallel  case  in  Daniel  and  Isaiah.  On  the  whole, 
Ezraic  authorship  is  fairly  sustained.  The  Aramaic 
portions,  Chs.  IV.  8-VI.  16,  and  VII.  12-26,  are  prob- 
ably taken  from  public  records. 

§  3.  Date.  —  Rawlinson  puts  it  at  457  B.C.,  relying 
upon  the  omission  of  any  mention  of  the  arrival  of 
Nehemiah  in  Jerusalem,  which  occurred  in  445  B.C.,  and 
supposing  it  written  soon  after  Ezra  had  disposed  of  the 
difficulty  concerning  mixed  marriages.  His  commission 
to  go  to  Jerusalem  at  first  appears  to  have  been  tempo- 
rary, Ch.  VII.  14.  He  probably  returned  to  the  Persian 
court,  where  he  may  have  written  the  book  bearing  his 
name. 


138  THE    HAGIOGRAPHA. 

§  4.  Object  and  Contents  of  the  Book.  —  Rawlinson 
remarks  on  these  points  as  follows  (Bible  Com.,  Introd. 
to  Ezra) :  "The  object  of  the  writer  of  Ezra  is  to  give 
an  account  of  the  re*:urn  from  the  Captivity,  and  of  the 
subsequent  fortunes  of  the  Palestinian  Jews,  until  the 
eighth  year  of  Artaxerxes,  457  B.C.  His  work  is  a  plain 
and  simple  history,  and  is  devoid  of  all  stirring  inci- 
dents, the  Jews  under  the  early  Persian  monarchs  being 
members  of  a  great  settled  empire,  and  living  peaceably 
in  the  enjoyment  of  equal  rights  with  other  Persian 
subjects.  The  matters  to  which  he  directs  attention 
are  three  and  three  only. 

"I.  The  number,  family,  and  (to  some  extent)  the 
names  of  those  who  returned  from  Babylon  with  Ezra 
and  Zerubbabel.     Chs.  II.  and  VIII.  1-20. 

"  II.  The  rebuilding  of  the  Temple  and  the  circum- 
stances connected  therewith.   Chs.  L,  III.,  V.,  and  VII. 

"III.  The  misconduct  of  the  returned  Jews  in  respect 
of  mixed  marriages,  and  the  steps  taken  by  Ezra  in 
consequence.     Chs.  IX.,  X." 

The  book  covers  a  period  of  about  eighty  years,  536- 
8  to  458  B.C.     Bleek  gives  the  period  as  100  years. 

The  text  of  the  book  in  the  original  is  very  imperfect  in 
names  and  numbers ;  some  of  them  as  yet  irreconcilable. 

§6.  Topics  of  Interest. —  I.  The  history  of  sur- 
rounding nations  during  this  period.  See  Milman,  H. 
H.,  and  Stanley,  A.  P.,  and  Ewald,  H. 

2.  The  relation  of  Ezra  to  the  Canon. 

3.  The  Persian  kings  of  the  period.  See  Introds.  and 
Diets. 

LITERATURE. 

Meagre.     Corns.,  Bible,  and  Lange. 


II.    NEHEMIAH. 

Chapters,  13. 

§  1.  Title.  —  This  book,  the  eleventh  of  the  Hagio- 
grapha,  takes  its  title  from  the  first  verse  of  the  first 
chapter,  "The  words  of  Nehemiah  the  son  of  Hacaliah." 
As  already  stated,  in  the  earliest  known  Hebrew  canon, 
it  and  Ezra  were  coupled  together  under  the  name 
"The  Book  of  Ezra,"  and  not  perhaps  until  the  time  of 
Jerome,  were  they  separated  as  we  now  have  them. 

§  2.  Author.  —  Of  the  first  seven  chapters  there  is 
general  agreement.  The  narrative  is  consecutive,  Nehe- 
miah speaks  in  the  first  person  throughout,  the  style  is 
uniform,  and  his  authorship  is  admitted. 

Rawlinson  says  that  "The  events  related  cover  a 
space  of  (probably)  less  than  a  year,"  and  that  the 
record  was  composed  "at  least  twelve  years  later,  since, 
while  the  general  narrative  falls  into  the  twentieth  year 
of  Artaxerxes  (or  B.C.  445-^^^),  in  one  place  (Ch.  V. 
14)  the  thirty-second  year  of  Artaxerxes  (or  b.c.  433- 
432)  is  mentioned." 

Of  the  remaining  chapters,  few,  except  Keil,  are  will- 
ing to  accept  Nehemiah  as  the  author,  though  they  admit 
parts  of  them  to  be  his. 

{a)  Chs.  VII.-X.,  giving  events  belonging  to  444  b.c, 
speak  of  Nehemiah  in  the  third  person,  and  call  him 
"the  Tirshathah,"  while  in  the  previous  chapters  he  is 


I40  THE    HAGIOGRAPHA. 

always  called  "Pechah."  Ezra  occupies  the  foreground 
of  the  story,  the  style  is  different,  and  the  work  seems 
to  be  that  of  another.  Some  assign  it  to  Ezra.  Rawlin- 
son  conjectures  that  it  is  the  work  of  Nehemiah's  scribe. 

{b)  Chs.  XI.-XII.  26  give  six  lists  of  citizens  of 
Jerusalem,  etc.,  but  Ch.  XII.  12-21  contains  the  name 
of  Jaddua  as  high  priest,  who  belonged  to  the  time  of 
Alexander,  a  century  later  than  Nehemiah. 

{c)  But  Chs.  XII.  27-XIII.  are  generally  credited  to 
Nehemiah. 

{d)  With  the  exception  of  Ch.  XII.  1-26,  which  must 
be  by  a  later  hand,  or  contain  interpolations,  which 
Rawlinson  admits,  the  book  is  evidently  a  compilation, 
containing  a  large  amount  of  matter  which  was  Nehe- 
miah's, to  which  the  compiler  probably  prefixed  the 
superscription. 

If  we  admit  the  opinion  that  the  first  verses  of  Ezra 
are  a  repetition  of  the  last  verses  of  the  Chronicles,  and 
are  an  index  of  the  chronological  order  of  the  history, 
then  Nehemiah  gives  us  the  last  Scriptural  history  of 
the  condition  of  the  Jews  prior  to  the  era  of  the  N.  T. 

Rawlinson  puts  the  date  of  the  book  either  430  B.C. 
or  330  B.C.,  the  variation  depending  upon  the  decision 
whether  the  writer  of  Ch.  XII.  1-26  was  the  compiler 
and  author,  or  was  the  compiler  of  later  date,  who 
merely  inserted  that  portion. 

The  text  in  general  is  good.  Chief  difficulty,  names 
and  numbers. 

§  3.  General  Analysis.  —  Professor  Crosby  divides 
the  book  into  three  parts,  viz. :  — 

I.    Before  the  wall-building.     Chs.  I.-II. 


NEHEMIAH.  14! 

II.  The  wall-building.     Chs.  III.-XII.  43. 

III.  After  the  wall-building.     Ch.  XII.  44-XIII. 
See  Lange. 

LITERATURE. 

Arts.  "Nehemiah"  and  "Nehemiah,  Book  of,"  Smith's  Bib.  Diet. 
Bible  Com. 

"  Times  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  " Bosanquet,  J.  W. 

Com.  Introd Keil. 

"An  Introduction  to  the  Books  of  Ezra,  Nehe- 
miah, and  Esther " Sayce,  A.  H. 


12.     I   AND  2   CHRONICLES. 

Chapters  !   1  Chron.,  29  ;   2  Ohron.,  36. 

§  1.  Title.  —  What  are  called  ist  and  2d  Chronicles 
were  originally  but  one  work  in  the  Hebrew  Mss.,  with 
the  superscription,  "The  Affairs  of  the  Times,"  "The 
Daily  Acts."  The  Septuagint  translators,  dissatisfied 
with  such  a  title,  gave  them  one  which  they  considered 
appropriate  to  the  contents  of  the  books  and  their  posi- 
tion relative  to  the  other  historical  books,  and  called 
them  paraleipomejta^  "the  things  omitted,"  as  if  they 
were  designed  to  supply  the  omissions  in  the  history  of 
the  Jews  as  found  in  Samuel  and  Kings.  The  term 
"  Chronicles  "  has  for  its  Latin  father,  Jerome,  and  for 
its  German  father,  Luther.  It  is  strictly  a  translation 
from  the  Vulgate. 

§  2.  Author.  —  Tradition,  Jewish  and  Christian,  as- 
signs the  authorship  to  Ezra ;  some  modern  critics  deem 
it  the  work  of  a  priest  or  Levite  later  than  Ezra's  time ; 
and  others  believe  that  Chronicles,  Ezra,  and  Nehemiah 
were  originally  one  book  by  one  and  the  same  author. 
It  is  a  singular  fact  that  Ezra  (Ch.  I.  1-3)  begins  with 
the  same  passage  as  that  with  which  Chronicles  ends, 
Ch.  XXIX.  22,  23  ;  as  if  the  two  books  were  originally 
one,  and  subsequently  divided  into  two.  If  this  were  so, 
it  would  favor  Ezraic  authorship,  provided  Ezra  were 
the  author  of  the  book  bearing  his  name. 


I    AND    2    CHRONICLES.  I43 

§3.  Date.  —  Not  earlier  than  538  b.c.  Almost  the 
whole  of  Ch.  IX.  of  i  Chron.  belongs  to  the  period  after 
the  Captivity.  Ch.  III.  of  i  Chron.  gives  a  list  of  de- 
scendants of  Zerubbabel.  The  style  is  also  akin  with  that 
of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  with  Aramaisms  and  one  Per- 
sian word  (Daric),  i  Chron.  XXIX.  7.  Some  place  the 
book  as  late  as  400  b.c,  or  336-323,  the  Grecian  period  ; 
and  others,  still  later,  in  the  Maccabean  period.  Rawlin- 
son  says  (Bible  Com.,  Introd.) :  "  If  Ezra  was  the  author, 
the  date  could  not  well  be  later  than  b.c.  435,  for  Ezra 
died  about  that  time.  There  is  nothing  in  the  contents 
and  style  of  the  work  to  make  the  date  b.c.  450-435  im- 
probable, for  the  geneaology  in  Ch.  III.  2^,  24,  which 
appears  to  be  later  than  this,  may  be  a  subsequent  addi- 
tion." 

NoU.  —  The  date  of  the  Chronicles  is  of  great  impor- 
tance in  settling  questions  raised  by  the  Newer  Criti- 
cism.    See  Keil  and  Bleek,  also  Lange  and  Com. 

§  4.    Sources. 

(a)  A  general  history  called  the  "  Book  of  the  Kings 
of  Israel  and  Judah."     2  Chron.  XVI.  11  sq. 

(d)  Annals  of  contemporaneous  prophets,  some  twelve 
of  them.     See  Bible  Com. 

(c)  The  whole  of  the  earlier  Scriptures. 

(d)  Various  documents,  genealogies,  etc.,  preserved 
and  taken  from  public  and  private  sources,  not  men- 
tioned in  the  Scriptures;  e.£:  1  Chron.  II.  18-24,  42-55, 
etc. 

§  5.    Special    Characteristics    of    the    Book.  —  As 

compared  with  the  histories  of  Samuel  and  Kings,  it  is 


144  THE    HAGIOGRAPHA. 

not  a  mere  supplement  to  them,  like  John's  Gospel  as 
compared  with  the  Synoptists,  for  the  writer  repeats 
sometimes  whole  chapters  from  Samuel  or  Kings,  with  a 
few  verbal  differences,  and  this  is  not  the  characteristic  of 
a  supplement.  1  He  evidently  has  a  distinct  purpose  in 
mind,  and  that  purpose  seems  *to  be  to  gather  up  the 
whole  history  of  the  Jewish  nation  as  a  guide  and  inspi- 
ration to  the  people  after  their  return  from  captivity. 
Hence  there  appear  as  special  features  of  the  book,  — ■ 

{a)  A  strong  tendency  to  portray  the  externals  of 
religion,  temple  worship,  and  the  priesthood ;  so  strong 
that  by  some  the  book  has  been  called  Ecclesiastical; 
Samuel  and  Kings  being  called  political. 

(d)    A  decided  genealogical  purpose. 

(c)  Its  high  religious  tone,  referring  every  great  ca- 
lamity and  deliverance  to  the  good  or  evil  deed  of  king 
and  people,  to  be  punished  or  rewarded  by  an  ever- 
watchful  Providence.     See  Bible  Com.,  Intro. 

§  6.  Trustworthiness  of  the  Book.  —  On  account 
of  the  attacks  of  the  Newer  Criticism  this  feature 
demands  careful  consideration.  If  the  book  is  trust- 
worthy history,  many  of  the  strongest  attacks  of  that 
school  can  be  effectually  repelled.  See  "  Hist,  of 
Israel,"  Ch.  6,  Welhausen,  J.;  '* Chronicles,"  Encyc. 
Brit.,  Smith,  W.  R.  ;  "  Israel,"  Encyc.  Brit.,  Welhau- 
sen,  J.;    ''Bible   for    Learners,"  vol.    2.,    pp.    533-35; 

1  We  find  such  characteristic  passages  as  these:  i  Chron.  X.  1-12;  cf. 
I  Sam.  XXXI.  i  Chron.  XVII.;  cf.  2  Sam.  VII.  i  Chron.  XVIII. ;  cf.  2 
Sam.  VIII.  I  Chron.  XIX.;  cf.  2  Sam.  X.  i  Chron.  XXI.;  cf.  2  Sam. 
XXIV.  2  Chron.  V.  2-VII.  10;  cf.  i  Kings  VIII.  2  Chron.  XXII.  10- 
XXIV.  i;    cf.  2  Kings  XI. 


I    AND    2    CHRONICLES.  I45 

"Religion  of  Israel,"  Kuenen,  A.,  vol.  2;  "Prophets 
ard  Prophecy  of  Israel,"  Kuenen,  A. ;  Keil's  Intro., 
vol.  2,  giving  the  arguments  of  De  Wette,  with  full 
answers.  Welhausen  reproduces  De  Wette,  and  ac- 
knowledges his  indebtedness.  *'  Chronicles,"  Schaff- 
Herzog ;  Lange,  Intro,  by  Zockler,  O. ;  "  The  Books 
of  Chronicles,  with  special  reference  to  the  Books  of 
Samuel,"  Andover  Review,  April,  '84,  Brown,   F. 

§  7.  General  Analysis.  —  The  book  may  be  divided 
into  six  sections  :  — 

1.  The  genealogical  register  of  primeval  times  and  of 
the  tribes  of  Israel,      i  Chron.  I. -IX. 

2.  The  reign  of  David,     i  Chron.  X.-XXIX. 

3.  The  reign  of  Solomon.     2  Chron.  I. -IX. 

4.  The  narrative  of  the  revolt  of  the  Ten  Tribes. 
2  Chron.  X. 

5.  The  Kingdom  of  Judah  to  the  Exile.  2  Chron. 
XI.-XXXVI.  21. 

6.  The  edict  of  Cyrus  for  the  return  of  the  Jews  to 
Palestine.     2  Chron.  XXXVI.  22,  23. 

§  8.  Text.  —  Imperfect.  Difficulties  in  names,  num- 
bers, and  arrangement  of  words.  Many  of  them  may 
be  copyist's  errors. 

LITERATURE. 

Bible  Commentary  (best). 

"Introduction  to  the  O.  T." Davidson,  S. 

"  Holy  Bible,  with  notes,"  Intro.,  vol.  3 .     .     .     .    Wordsworth,  C. 


BRIEF   LIST  OF  DESIRABLE   COMMENTARIES.' 


On  the  whole  Old  Testament.  —  Lange;    Bible  Com. 
On  Pentateuch.  —  Keil ;    Pulpit. 

1.  Genesis.  —  Lange;   Keil  and  Delitzsch ;  Dod;   Pulpit. 

2.  Exodus.  —  Bible  Com.;   Lange;   Pulpit;   Murphy. 

3.  Leviticus.  —  K.  and  D.;   Lange;   Murphy;   Pulpit. 

4.  Numbers  and 

5.  Deuteronomy 

6.  Joshua.  —  Keil;   Lange;   Pulpit;  Bible  Com.;  Cambridge  Bible. 

7.  I  and  1  Samuel.  —  Keil;  Lange;   Pulpit;   Cambridge  Bible. 

8.  \  and  2  Kings.  —  Lange;   Pulpit;  Cambridge  Bible. 

9.  Isaiah.  —  Alexander;    Delitzsch;   Cheyne. 


Lange ;  Bible  Com. ;  K.  and  D. ;  Pulpit. 


k  yeremiah  attd )  ^  ,^  .,     ^      .    . ,       ,... ,       ^  ,   . 

'°-    \L.:ne„tatio„s  l^^^''  ^''^'  Cambridge  Bible;  Palp.t. 

W.  Ezekiel.  —  Bible  Com.;   Lange;    Fairbairn;    Keil. 

12.  Minor  Prophets.     Whole.     Lange;  K.  and  D.;   Pulpit.     Hosea, 

Obadiahy  Jonah,  Micah,  Haggai,  and    Zechariah:   Cambridge 

Bible. 
i;^.  Psalms.  —  Perowne;   Delitzsch;   Alexander;   Jennings  and  Lowe. 

14.  Proverbs.  —  Delitzsch;    Lange. 

15.  yob.  —  Lange;  Delitzsch;   Davidson. 

1 6.  Song  of  Solomon.  —  Lange ;   Delitzsch. 

17.  Ruth.  —  Lange. 

18.  Ecclesiastes.  —  Lange;   Stuart;   Wright. 

19.  Esther.  — Y^eiS.\  Bible  Com.;  Haley. 

20.  Daniel.  —  Stuart;   Cowles;   Lange;   Keil. 

C  Ezra  and  }  ,^., ,     ^  „  ..     ^  ,   . 

"■    iA'M.«.-a/J'*'"^Cora.;Ke.l;Pulp,t. 

22.  I  ajid  2  Chronicles.  —  Bible  Com.  ;   Keil;   Lange;   Pulpit. 

23.  Apocrypha.  —  Lange;  Bible  Com. 

*  Chiefly  for  English  students. 


MINOR    PROPHETS. 


147 


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148 


MINOR   PROPHETS. 


MINOR   PROPHETS.  — Table   II. 


Hebrew. 

Characteristic. 

Aim. 

Critical  Difficulty. 

I.  Hosea. 

Emotional 

Defence  of  Divine 

Chronological  arrange- 

love and  right- 

ment. 

eousness. 

2.  Joel 

Vividness. 

Eschatological. 

Date.  Interpretation, 
historical  or  allegor- 
ical. 

3.  Amos. 

Logical. 

Divine  justice 
against  idolatry. 

Unity. 

4.  Obadiah. 

Crisp. 

Against  Edom. 

Date. 

5.  Jonah. 

Lucidity. 

A  gospel  to  Nin- 

Method of  interpreta- 

eveh. 

tion. 

6.  Micah. 

Terse.     Anti- 

The  new   king- 

Arrangement. 

thetic.    - 

dom. 

7.  Nahum. 

Imagery. 

Consolation    for 
Israel  by  over- 
throw  of    As- 
syria. 

Date. 

8.  Habakkuk. 

Dramatic. 

God's  sovereignty 

Arrangement. 

9.  Zephaniah. 

Rough  style. 

Dies  irse. 

Arrangement. 

10.  Haggai. 

Unrhythmical. 

Restoration. 

Arrangement. 

II.  Zechariah. 

Dramatic. 

Messianic. 

Authorship.  Chrono- 
logical arrangement. 

12.  Malachi. 

Axiomatic. 

Reformation. 

Date. 

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